Conquest of Lodos Forest
by ainzOoalGo
Summary: Ainz travels to a nation of dark elves to find Aura and Mare some friends and enlist their services but will everything go so smoothly? (discontinued) soon to start publishing my very own light novel and web novel. if anyone wants to pick up this story or march plz let me know :p
1. prologue

**Conquest of Lodos Forest**

Prologue:

"Report"

Aura looked anxiously at Ainz. She had delivered her written report of what she had seen but was summoned to Ainz's chamber anyway.

"Y-yes Ainz-sama. Etoo… I confirmed the rumors that had been flying around the kingdom. There is indeed a nation of dark elves living in the northern parts of the kingdom."

"Umu, this is excellent news. With the Theocracy in shambles as well as the Kingdom and the Empire at our beck and call everything is coming together nicely. It gives us breathing room to act more freely, which is why…"

Ainz looked at Aura for a second although with his eyes it was impossible to tell for sure.

"Would you be interested in joining me on a small mission?"

"Naturally Ainz-sama!"

Not a second's hesitation as Aura vividly replied to her master's request.

"Then go find your brother, since the bigger nations are starting to fall we must turn our attention to the smaller nations lest they become the bane of our campaign."

Ainz got up from his seat as he began walking out the room with Aura.

"Well then let's see…

What this nation of dark elves is like

 **Author's afterword: please checkout my new story about my favorite twins in anime stomping on their weak foes.**

 **PS: please ignore this weak prologue as i wrote it in like ten minutes just to get you started. this story only goes uphill from here i promise!**

 **and**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN**


	2. Chapter 1

**Conquest of Lodos Forest**

 **Chapter 1: Black woods of Lodos**

Out of all the human nations in the world, the one that could be called the most untamed was without a doubt the Re-Estize Kingdom. Even with all the adventurers and the royal army keeping the peace, all cities and towns faced problems with monsters and undead disturbing the peace. Not to mention the demi-human races that, even now that slavery had been officially banned, continued to hold a grudge against humans and would sometimes not hesitate to slaughter entire caravans if they had the chance.

For the most part these clans of demi-humans did not reside within the kingdom's lands. Most of them scurried off to the wilderness in the south or sought asylum in the Aggrand Council Republic in the northern realms but exceptions still existed. One of which was, unbeknownst to most of the kingdom's citizens, the existence of a nation of dark elves that lived on their side of the mountains that formed the border between the kingdom and the republic.

The vast mountain range of Lodos that stretched all the way from the northern ocean to the great trade city of E-Asenaru concealed many secrets with its harsh weather and thick black forest which was called the Black Woods of Lodos. It was said that hundreds of years ago this place had been the battlefield where a ferocious demon god clashed with members of the legendary thirteen heroes and was beaten and later sealed. To this day, few dared enter those woods out of fear of what demonic remnants may be left. This was all the better for the dark elves that lived in these parts as they generally hated coming into contact with other creatures and enjoyed an isolated lifestyle where the forest was the only thing they needed to depend on in order to survive.

The kingdom's previous ruler had once tried to establish a peace and trade relationship with the elves, but the scouts he sent to find their base were never seen again. All that was ever found were the horses on which they rode, unharmed and well fed. One could only guess why the elves had resorted to such violence as there were reasons aplenty such as their now illegal slave trade or the Slane Theocracy's persecution of their kind or perhaps they simply did not wish to come in contact with humans and could not allow the scouts to tell of their base's location. Nonetheless, the kingdom even back then did not have the resources to spend on a conflict with a race that sought no trouble so the matter had been put to rest. Ever since, then none had ever dared to go out into the forest looking for the dark elves…

Until today.

Despite the size of the creature that waltzed through the forest at great speed, the tranquility of the trees was undisturbed as it surprisingly created little sound as it walked. Perhaps the great amounts of fur made it appear heavier and lumpier than it actually was. Any man, no matter how fierce or stout, would flinch after seeing the magnificence of this beast as its size alone would be a nightmare for anyone to contend with, but to the three creatures that sat on its back, this being was little more than a convenient mode of transportation.

Hamsuke swiftly dashed through terrain that would've been impossible to cross on horseback as it followed its master's orders on where to go precisely and in an unquestionably loyal matter. If her master told her to jump off a cliff, she would not hesitate in the slightest as it was foolish for an underling like herself to think too much about what her master ordered her to do. On her back sat three beings that to her were both frightening and awe-inspiring as each gave her a sense of unimaginable strength.

Aura, Mare, and Ainz who wore the armor of Momon were casually seated in a custom made saddle with the twins in front and Ainz at the back. As they traversed the woods, they seemed not the least bit concerned with their surroundings and in fact the two twin elves were even a little excited and happy to be riding with their beloved lord. It was not difficult to imagine considering that their lord had seemed happier as of late which made them happier as well. Perhaps what had happened in the Slane Theocracy had been a truly joyous moment for Ainz, but ever since then he felt much more relaxed and kind towards his subjects whilst naturally maintaining a very regal and imposing stance towards them.

Seeing their master at ease like this made all residents of Nazarick feel great joy and pride as they had not let their master down, thus also decreasing the possibility of him leaving them like the other Supreme Beings. When the twins heard that Ainz wanted them to accompany him to a nation of dark elves, they naturally agreed immediately as it didn't matter where they went as long as they could be of service to their lord.

"Ainz-sama, are you sure we need to go to the dark elf settlement by riding Hamsuke? I've already been there before when I scouted out the place so teleporting there would be much faster, no?"

Aura sounded curious as she naturally knew that there was a reason for everything that her master did but still wanted to be enlightened by his wisdom if only to grasp his intentions a little better.

"No, Aura, remember we are coming here as peaceful envoys to forge relationships between the Great Tomb of Nazarick and this clan of dark elves. If we teleport on their doorstep, it will be all the more difficult to be seen as friendly."

Ainz chuckled slightly underneath his helmet as he spoke. In truth, there were two objectives to this journey. One was as said to establish friendly relationships with this nation of dark elves and hopefully lure them into the fold as another satrapy of Ainz Ooal Gown. But secondly and most important for Ainz…

This was a mission to find more friends and playmates for Aura and Mare.

Ainz naturally understood that it was far too early for them to be looking for lovers or the sort, but the fact remained that unlike the rest of Nazarick, they had no other companions of the same species. Nazarick had only two dark elves because they were the favorite fantasy race of Bukubuku Chagama-sama. Ainz knew that they managed just fine with just the two of them, but it was difficult to make real friends with the other residents when most treated them with such respect due to their status as floor guardians. When he heard about a nation of dark elves existing not too far away and the threat of the World Class Item user diminished, it was the perfect opportunity to go and visit.

"By the way, Aura, how much further is it?"

Ainz gave Aura a meaningful look as his question was not as simple as it appeared.

"It is still about half a day's travel to their lair but…"

Aura gave a quick glance around as if surveying her surroundings despite their not appearing to be around them except trees.

"It won't be much longer, Ainz-sama."

Aura's reply was stern and concise as she gave an affirming look while she spoke.

"Eeeeh, dono, what does that mean? Will it be much longer? Will we be in danger – gozaru?"

"It doesn't concern you. You only need to keep going and leave the rest to us." Ainz said softly as he lightly patted the worried Hamsuke.

It was indeed not much longer before Hamsuke suddenly came to a standstill. There was no real obstacle, but her hair stood on end as she relentlessly looked around her with an uneasy look in her eyes. Even for the creature that was once called the Wise King of the Forest, this was not a pleasant situation.

Not ten seconds later did voices suddenly begin to echo from within the trees around them.

"Halt your steps, trespassers! Who the hell are you?!"

 **Author's afterword:**

 **As promised, I will now begin writing side stories for as long as volume 10 isn't fully translated which honestly could still take like months. This story will be a bit more calm and fun than my previous work but don't worry it will still have fights and OPness. Making this M as I'm curious if it will get more attention that way. So without further ado let the dark elf arc… commence**

 **PS: chapters will now be posted every couple of days but will be smaller than before. Consider them wuxia size**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: You're mine!**

"Halt your steps, trespassers! Who the hell are you?!"

The voice boomed from within the trees above them as the echoes made it impossible to tell for certain where exactly the person was hiding. Ainz and the twins didn't seem the least bit bothered about it though as they calmly looked up into the trees.

Finally, Ainz spoke up.

"I am the adventurer Momon and current enforcer of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. I come here with these two esteemed emissaries to forge friendly relationships between your kind and the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

There was a slight pause as a response was not immediately heard from within the trees, until finally an answer came booming with an angered tone.

"We have no business to do with you, human. We do not desire any kind of pact with outsiders. Leave those two children that you have obviously stolen from our lands and leave!"

Hearing this, Aura's face twisted into a heavily annoyed expression as she stood up and shouted herself.

"Oi, how dare you speak to A… no Momon-san like that? We aren't slaves, we are envoys of Ainz Ooal Gown, you'd better listen to what he has to say or else! Don't blame us for the consequences!"

Again, there followed a slight pause after which suddenly figures began to descend from the trees. They seemed to be using some kind of vines as ropes on which they slid down to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Ainz and his group were surrounded by what looked to be about twenty humanoid figures, all of which were armed with a staff, bow, or sword that they all pointed at Ainz or Hamsuke, but none seemed to point at Mare or Aura.

One of the figures approached them and revealed a quite handsome face with a dark skin complexion and clear green eyes. His hair, unlike his skin, was ash white if not slightly grey. The other remarkable feature was his pointy ears which revealed that he was indeed an authentic dark elf.

"You two. Which clan do you belong to? What are your names?"

From the voice, it was not hard to tell that this was the man that had been talking to them. Although the angry tone in his voice had seemingly vanished, though the reason was not yet clear. Perhaps he had not expected the outburst from Aura earlier, but he seemed stunned that this little dark elf girl actually had such vigor.

"My name is Aura Bella Fiore, servant of the great Ainz Ooal Gown-sama!"

Aura gave her brother a meaningful look as she wanted him to speak up for himself as well. Mare at first hesitated, but under pressure from his sister's glare finally spoke up as well.

"M-m-my name is… uh Mare Bello Fiore, I'm also a servant of Ainz-sama."

The dark elf looked at the two with a puzzled expression as he did not quite know what to make of them. For a start, it was a very rare thing to see dark elves from outside the tribe. Not to mention that their names were also completely foreign to him as they didn't match with any of the 18 dark elf clans that made up their tribe. It was possible that they had been stolen from the tribe years ago, but their names wouldn't have changed because of that, so where on earth did they come from? They said that they were emissaries for Ainz Ooal Gown. Even the dark elves of Lodos Forest knew who that was. Although they made no contact with humans, they naturally needed to stay in touch with the world if they wanted to preserve themselves so they had other methods of gathering information. If these children were indeed affiliated with the Sorcerer King and he decided to chase them away, it could potentially spell doom for the entire clan. After all, this wasn't the kingdom they were dealing with anymore.

After a brief moment of thinking the dark elf, finally made a decision.

"… Fine. You can come along and the elder will listen to what you have to say. But the human and his beast have to stay behind here. He can come and pick you up at this place in two days."

The dark elf gave Momon a slight glare as he spoke. It seemed apparent that this elf had some kind of grudge with humans and wished that they would stay away, the further the better. Ainz personally couldn't care less as he calmly spoke.

"Ah, my apologies but their lord has entrusted these two children into my care with strict orders not to leave them out of my sight until they have spoken with the leader of your tribe."

"Shut up, you damn human. The fact that I am considering to let you live is already an incredible show of leniency. Don't take it for granted, and scram before I change my mind."

The dark elf quickly replied with fierce anger as he began to loathe Ainz more and more it seemed.

"Hold up, you, who do you think you are talking to Momon-san like that? Momon-san is someone personally trusted by Ainz-sama to protect us. If you send him away you are also sending us away! You'd better hurry up and apologize!"

The dark elf looked like he had been slapped in the face by these two children. For him to apologize to a mere human was akin to something worse than death. Even if these two had a powerful backer, he could not possibly take their words to heart. But to offend them by denying their request was a little too dangerous for comfort.

At this moment, he truly did not know what to say…

"Looks like you're stuck with what to say, Camus! Since that's the case, why not simply give them an apology in the form of making an exception and allowing them to take their guardian with them?"

A cheerful cute voice rang from the treetops as from one of the branches tumbled down another figure. The way it somersaulted showed that this creature possessed a somewhat exceptional athletic physique and reflexes to match.

Before Ainz and the rest appeared a little dark elf girl. She likewise had silvery white hair and even at her relatively young age already looked quite charming. She had a youthful but charming face and when she grew up would be quite a looker. Unlike the male elf, she had crimson eyes with a shade of purple that stared curiously at Hamsuke. She wore a simple outfit that reminded one of the standard equipment for adventurers in E-Rantel and was armed with only a small wooden staff which she carelessly held behind her back as she strolled towards the creature.

"Mica! Who told you to come down here? Go back into cover now! This doesn't concern you! For all we know, these guys are dangerous! Who do you think would have to apologize to your grandfather if you got killed because of your carelessness?"

The dark elf girl rolled her eyes at Camus' remarks as she simply continued to walk closer to Hamsuke without any fear in her eyes to speak of.

"Uwah! What beast is this? Is it one of those with a demonic lineage? I've never seen such a magnificent and strong creature! You can just feel its fearsome aura leaking out from its eyes!"

The wild praise did not go unnoticed by Hamsuke as she closed her eyes and gallantly lifted her head, looking quite proud that there were still those that recognized her strength even if it faded in comparison to her masters.

Finally, her eyes fell upon the two dark elves that were still seated in the saddle of this fearsome beast. Upon seeing Aura and Mare, her eyes went wide as she stared at the two with an interesting expression on her face. A broad grin appeared as pure joy and elation glittered in her eyes whilst she neared the two. Her gaze was specifically focused on Mare as she inched ever closer to him. Mare himself was getting a bit uncomfortable as he leaned back a bit, but it didn't matter as the girl relentlessly got closer till she was just a couple of inches from his face.

Her eyes glittered as she didn't stop looking into his own eyes. Until she finally retracted and took a bit of distance. After a brief moment, she closed her eyes and nodded as she said; "All right, I've decided, I'll make you mine!"

At that moment, everything went quiet as neither Ainz nor Mare and not even any of the dark elves that had surrounded Ainz and his group knew what to say as they stared at this little elf girl who had just said something absolutely unbelievable.

 **AA: let the rom-com raging commence! (Don't worry not turning overlord into a comedic parody of itself) just give me some chapters to get you interested. This isn't going to be a boring story just a bit calmer. Stopped hating yen press since I now know that vol 10 is going to get translated anyway just under the DMCA's radar. So instead-**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: set out!**

"What did you say just now?"

Aura asked in a gobsmacked manner as she couldn't make heads or tails out of what this little elf girl had just said. Camus, meanwhile, had an incredibly annoyed expression on his face as he gave off the feeling that he was not completely foreign to this kind of situation when it came to this girl. Instead, he just looked like he could just put his palm to his face and afterwards slap the girl but instead he had to restrain himself and endure. This girl's background was probably not weak if she could say things like this without repercussion.

"Anyways, let's just take them with us, Camus. I'll vouch for them! At least they can tell the elder what they have to say. Considering how they were headed straight for our home, they probably already know our location anyway."

Ainz couldn't help but mutter a slight "hooh" sound when he heard the girl's rational analysis. Despite the incredibly strange thing she had said not a minute ago, she showed wisdom as was expected of elves who were always far older than they appeared.

"Oi, brat, don't ignore me you hear! What exactly did you mean by that, you damn kid?!"

"O-onee-san, you're being rude!"

"Me? What about this kid who claims she'll make you hers? What kind of nonsense is that?"

Whilst Mare tried to keep her enraged sister down, Mica simply pretended not to hear as she looked at Camus, waiting for his response.

Hearing Mica's words, Camus resigned himself with a slight sigh and quietly gestured to Ainz and the rest to follow them as he himself went ahead, followed by Mica who had a smile plastered on her face.

Ainz nudged Hamsuke slightly and they set off towards the dark elves' base.

Up ahead of Hamsuke and the dark elves who surrounded her, Camus and Mica hopped from tree trunk to tree trunk until they had created enough distance so that no one would be able to hear them even if they had elven ears.

"So you gonna tell me what the hell that was all about?"

Camus looked at Mica with a still incredibly annoyed expression as he was expecting a damn good explanation for all that she had just said.

"What? Didn't you see how beautiful that kid was? I've never seen a dark elf so pretty in my life and its eyes were absolutely infatuating. So like I said I'm going to make that kid mine, but of course I won't do anything bad until we're both fully matured!"

"Not that! I know your fetishes better than most so of course I wouldn't be surprised when you do stuff like this. It's about letting them speak with the elder. You know as well as I do that right now is an incredibly tense time for us. We have all sorts of problems to deal with at the moment and can't afford to also get tangled up with this Ainz Ooal Gown figure."

Camus looked stern but knew that it was too late to change Mica's mind but still demanded to know her line of reasoning before they continued this farce.

"What? That's what has got you all worried? Don't worry! Since the other side even sent over elven emissaries they are at least sensible about establishing contact. If things turn out well, they could even be of help to us. I don't think that you of all people don't know just how dire our situation is in some aspects."

"But still…"

Camus looked like he wanted to rebut with something but could not find the words.

"Anyways, the elder has divined that something important will happen in the near future that will change the fate of our entire clan, right? What if that something is linked with these emissaries? We need to make sure before we send them away, don't we?"

Mica looked mischievously at Camus who turned his head away in shame because he had been beaten by this little girl yet again. He had to admit that she was smarter than him, but would never say so out loud. At least not until she was older.

There was a grim secret that was hidden away in the Dark Forest of Lodos in which the elves resided. More than two hundred years ago now, a vicious battle had taken place in this land between a hero and a demon god. What most people who told this story didn't know was that such a battle could cause the earth to seethe and the sky to split apart. Who in their right mind would think that such a powerful clash would have no effect on the ecosystem?

In the black woods of Lodos at the foot of its mountain, even now there could be seen a scarred piece of land where life appeared to end as dead trees stood upon rotten soil. In this place, there was strong belief that a Demon God had been sealed. Though the patch of land that had become inhospitable to living creatures was small, its effects on a bigger scale were not. The vicious aura that seeped from this land had a profound effect on the wild beasts that lived in this area. Most creatures would sense the deadly energy and flee, but a few simply had nowhere to run to and stayed and accepted death. Whether it was luck or fate was unknown, but the creatures that stayed in the part of the forest that had decayed experienced an astounding change.

Many years later, five beasts emerged from the decayed part of the forest. When they had stayed behind they were sickly and weak but now…

A wolf, a panther, a bear, a python, and even a half-dragon appeared and rampaged throughout the forest and mountain range. Their appearances had been drastically changed, as had their power which they used to swiftly destroy any and all opposition. Each claimed a part of the territory for themselves and ruled it as its new sovereign. Ever since then, they had become the bane of all creatures that wanted to traverse these parts and had even sired demonic offspring which likewise carried a trace of their blood which separated them from any of their kind.

The dark elves had managed to get by simply due to the mysterious power that their elder possessed, but it was hard to count the amount of close calls their tribe had had and how many of their members they had lost to the demonic beasts and their kin.

And now things had gotten even worse due to various reasons. It was almost certain that if the current situation went on that it would most likely spell doom for the whole tribe.

Camus knew this and as the leader of the Demon Hunter Troupe, he was more burdened than most of the other elves with finding some solution. But the one thing that he would sooner die than do was ask humans for help or flee to the human kingdom in the south.

He looked back at the approaching group behind him with furrowed brows. Even if the two emissaries were elves like him, he would still be vigilant. Even if it meant offending their master…

He would not allow that human adventurer to leave their tribe alive.

 **AA: in case you don't know volume 10 up on amazon for 30** **th** **may so translations will begin probably a month afterwards when Chinese have translated it and another month before it's translated into English if our savior is feeling generous (if you don't know his name, you should visit sky and 4chan more)**

 **Anyways and as always**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Home of the dark elves**

Although the dark elves called the Black Woods of Lodos Forest their home, in reality their base wasn't in the trees or on the ground. Due to the five demonic beasts that rampaged through the forest with each claiming most of it as their own territory, there was no way for the dark elves to survive if they stayed and slept in the woods.

The true home of the dark elves was the mountain of Lodos. At the foot of the mountain there was a small waterfall formed by the water that poured from the mountain. Beasts rarely came to this place as it was right on the border of the demonic half-dragon's territory. Of all the beasts that got corrupted by the demonic energy, the half-dragon was the most territorial of all and would kill anyone that tried to set foot or come close to the mountain. But it was precisely because of this that this place was the perfect hideout for the elves.

Behind the waterfall was a sizeable hole that one would not detect unless one searched for it. Only by walking on a steep path that was just wide enough for one person could this hole be reached. It was through this hole that one entered the home of the Lodos Dark Elf Tribe.

The cave in which the elves lived could not be called a cave anymore, it was a cavern. The size of the cavern was much larger than one could imagine with the ceiling stretching out more than dozens of meters high. Giant stalagmites and stalactites could be seen all around, inspiring wonder at just how many hundreds of years this place had existed. The overall size of the cavern was like a secret underground city.

There were no torches needed to explore this place. Incredibly, the cave was permanently illuminated by mysterious red and purple crystals that shone with fluorescent light day and night and provided a mystical feeling to the cavern overall.

It was not difficult to spot the homes of the dark elves as they were literally all over the place. Some had chosen to build their house on the ground while others had etched their houses into the walls or even into one of the giant stalagmites and stalactites. There were so many houses that it was easy to lose count, but peculiarly some seemed abandoned and looked like they could collapse at any time. Disregarding this, it was still a marveling sight to say the least.

Even Ainz could not help but admire the beauty of this natural phenomenon as they entered this place. The way this cavern looked would bring geologists back in his world to tears. The colorful lighting of the crystals combined with the jaw dropping rock formations made for a truly marveling sight. Although it still paled in comparison to the underground lake on the fourth floor of Nazarick, one could hardly compare something artificially made to something that had been created by Mother Nature herself over the course of hundreds - perhaps thousands - of years.

As the group walked seemingly deeper and deeper into the cavern, Ainz and the twins began to see the frightened faces of the other inhabitants of this place. From out of the various houses inside the cavern, faces began peeking out through small cracks in their wooden doors or from behind windows. It wasn't difficult to comprehend why most were so frightened; it had probably been ages since any of them had seen an outsider.

Finally, the group halted in front of an underground lake that existed in the deepest parts of this cavern. It was about the size of a football field and had a calm clear surface with untainted waters that made even the bottom of the lake visible. At the very center of the lake was a single rock that stuck out proudly, atop of which was a single large house that glowed with a mystic aura and made it all the more mysterious.

Camus gestured towards a couple of rowboats that were moored at the rocky shore of the underground lake. Since Hamsuke was way too big to take across in a row boat, she was left at the shore guarded by some of the dark elves that had ambushed Ainz's group back in the forest.

Ainz was put on a rowboat together with Camus and another dark elf to make sure he wouldn't try to pull anything funny, while Aura and Mare were put on a rowboat with Mica. The girl seemed to have absolutely no trouble in rowing the three of them across the shore by herself. What was even more surprising was that the other dark elves were completely fine with letting Mica row the boat without anyone on board to act as her guards. The one most uneasy about this arrangement seemed to be Mare, who hid on the far end of the rowboat behind his sister who kept looking at Mica annoyedly.

A total of three row boats paddled their way across the lake and eventually reached the rock in its center upon which the large house was built. As they neared it, a rope ladder was thrown down to the approaching passengers as it was clear that they were expected to climb it to reach the top of the rock. No one said anything as one by one all the passengers of each boat began climbing and reached the top of the rock.

After a short wait, the three were allowed to set foot into the home and meet with the elder, but not before being searched for any concealed weapons or poisons as was custom when meeting the leader of a tribe or nation. Ainz's swords, Mare's staff, and Aura's whip were to be confiscated and put away in storage before they were allowed to enter the inside of the house. After a quick nod of approval from Ainz, the trio handed in their weapons and proceeded into the house.

The inside of the house was not in the least what one would expect if seen from the outside. In the center of the house from a bird's point of view, a large courtyard became visible around which something resembling a circular construct was built. And in this courtyard stood a single tree that radiated a faint purple glow like the crystals in the cave. The tree was barely two meters tall but looked stately for some reason as if it had stood in this place for many years and commanded respect from all who walked beneath it.

Beneath this tree sat a single robed figure with its face covered for the most part, but its wrinkles could be clearly seen none the less. From the hood of the robe a long silver beard stretched out all the way to the ground. This figure emanated both ancientness and a profound magic aura as all that saw it would bow their heads in respect before this grand elder of magic. This was undoubtedly the leader and elder of the tribe that the other dark elves had spoken of.

The elder appeared in deep meditation and most likely didn't even seem to notice the group of elves approach with Ainz and the two elf children behind them.

From underneath his helmet, Ainz stared at the elder with an inspecting look as he tried to probe just how powerful this elder really was. But as long as he was in this warrior form he could only guess as he didn't have access to most of his magic.

Despite all this, it seemed unlikely that this elf was anything worthy of note compared to Mare in terms of magic. And even if he had some level of power, it didn't appear that he was strong enough to use it.

As he thought this, Ainz glanced over to a short distance away from the tree where a mature elf woman sat at a wooden table whilst she was reading a book. On the table itself were placed various metal and wooden objects that reminded one of doctor's equipment and surgical tools. It was more than likely that this was the elder's personal caretaker.

"Respected elder! Please forgive this young fool's impudence for disturbing your meditation, but these creatures claim to be emissaries of the notorious Ainz Ooal Gown from the human realm. They wish to exchange a few words with the respected elder. I wonder if you could find it in your heart to speak with them?"

Camus respectfully addressed the elder as he bowed deeply and spoke in a sincere and firm tone. In response, he only received a slight grunt from the elder who just barely opened his old eyes as he looked at Camus and the rest almost as if still in trance.

"You brought them here?"

A hoarse yet also strong voice resounded as the elder spoke. Even if his life was indeed coming to an end, it seemed his authority was still unquestioned as the elves shook with fear from simply these few words.

"Yes, gramps! I vowed for them seeing as they represent _that_ Ainz Ooal Gown. Do me a favor and hear them out, OK?"

Now everything became clear to Ainz. How else could a girl like Mica command such respect and display such arrogance with her words without some kind of backing like an elder? Although, it was surprising that even to her protector she still spoke with such informality. She must have been quite spoiled if she still acted like this.

The elder seemed to ignore Mica as his gaze passed over to the two elf children and the armored warrior that stood like a guard next to them.

"Well then come forward esteemed emissaries. Let us see what your honored master has to say."

An almost indistinguishable smile appeared as he beckoned the trio to come closer. After a slight nudge from Ainz, the three moved forward. This was what Ainz had been waiting for. Whether his plans would be a success or fail would depend on the next conversation. Calmly, he likewise stepped forward before a deafening shout could be heard behind him.

"Halt! Remove your helmet immediately!"

 **AA: just some description and setting. Deal with it as this story still has A LOT of goodies, oh and please don't forget to like and follow THIS STORY not just me personally as it motivates me to write more and isn't that what you all want?**

 **PS: if you're wondering, I never said daily releases, I said periodical so can't be helped if I am a day late every now and then.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: speaking with the elder**

"Remove your helmet this instant! No one is allowed to hide their face in front of the great elder."

Ainz didn't even need to look to know where the voice was coming from. Only the leader of the dark elves that had ambushed him would suddenly speak in such a demanding tone to him.

Ainz calmly looked at the elder who himself had not said anything to reign in his subordinate and decided that there was no way around it. Carefully, he removed his helmet and allowed the elves to see his illusionary human face.

The face he had designed was not particularly handsome and instead mundane and uninspiring, but if it was compared to the faces of the humans that lived in the kingdom it became apparent that he was a foreigner to this land.

All the elves briefly glanced over Ainz' face before lazily averting their gaze and looking towards the elder. Even the elf woman that had been reading a book until now briefly looked up and studied Ainz before promptly returning to her reading. Evidently, she did not appear the least bit impressed with what she had seen and instead chose to focus on reading her book.

 _Looks like no one noticed anything._

Ainz sighed inwardly as his illusion magic had not been seen through otherwise his skeletal face would be sure to cause a commotion amongst the elves. Even if they were great actors, they would not be able to hide the momentary shock of seeing an undead right in front of them. With this matter out of the way, the real work could begin.

With the ruckus calming down, Camus still glared at Ainz but gestured that he and the two elves should approach the elder and state their case. Even Ainz's cooperation was apparently not enough to quell the hatred that he felt for humans.

Having complied with their host's demands, the trio walked towards the elder side by side before halting about three steps away from him. Ainz had already discussed beforehand with Aura and Mare on how to behave in front of the leader of the tribe.

As soon as they were close enough, the three respectfully bowed to the elder. Even though Mare and Aura naturally had some grievances about their lord bowing to someone, they were under orders to silence any complaints and simply act as their master had told them.

Eventually, Ainz was the one who spoke first to the elder.

"Greetings, esteemed elder of this great dark elves tribe. I am the adventurer Momon, current enforcer of E-Rantel and temporary servant of Ainz Ooal Gown. I have come here today escorting these two honored envoys who wish to discuss matters of great importance with you. Would you do us the honor of hearing them out?"

The elder, in response to Ainz's words, merely gave an almost dismissible nod to him as he indicated for the two elves to speak.

Ainz looked over to Aura and Mare as if to tell them to take over. Aura understood her lord's intentions and made a single step forward before she too spoke.

"I am Aura Bella Fiore, Floor Guardian of the Sixth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

Aura looked back with an angry stare at Mare which prompted him to step forward as well and likewise introduce himself.

"M-mm… my name is Mare Bello Fiore and I am also a Floor Guardian of the Sixth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, please to make your acquaintance."

Almost rolling her eyes at her overly docile and shy brother, Aura then continued speaking since her brother was useless at this sort of thing.

"We come here as representatives for our lord Ainz-sama who wishes to forge good relationships with this tribe. Ainz-sama is a kind and generous leader who cares for and loves his subordinates as if they were his own creations and seeks to create a peaceful world for all creatures to live in together. He has seen the ridicule and contempt that demi-humans face in this world and aims to change this."

At this moment, Aura's voice became louder as she joyfully declared to the elder her master's true ambitions.

"In other words, my lord Ainz-sama has declared that he will aid your tribe of dark elves with anything he can in exchange for your submission and sharing of valuable information! Accept Ainz-sama's proposal and anything you want shall be granted to your tribe! Protection, food, wisdom! All of this and more our compassionate and wise lord is willing to provide in exchange for your cooperation. Now what do you say?"

The other dark elves all seemed stunned at the elf boy's proposal. Right now their tribe was facing a lot of problems which needed immediate attention and funds to resolve. Neither of which was in abundance as all members of the tribe were already overloaded with tasks and work to complete in order to keep up and funds depended on what the forest provided which had been steadily decreasing lately.

On the other side, if they refused it would incur the wrath of their master. The elves' methods of gathering news from the outside world was apparently not limited as all seemed more than aware of just how frightening the name Ainz Ooal Gown was.

But even so…

"Hmm… what you are saying may sound appealing, but surely you esteemed emissaries can understand our position. We dark elves are a reclusive and uncaring race that prefers peace and quiet above all else. When the Agrand Council Republic came and offered us to join them, we declined that time for the very same reason."

The elder's voice was not malevolent or ridiculing but also carried little sincerity. Evidently, he was having trouble giving this much face to just two elf children, no matter who they may be backed by.

"Then…"

A cold voice suddenly resounded.

"You'll be rejecting Ainz-sama?"

It was impossible to tell for the elves standing behind the twins, but the Elder and his caretaker could see it clearly. There was an ice-cold expression plastered on Aura's face. If looks could kill, the elder might have already died.

"That's not what I'm saying, esteemed emissary. The truth is that currently our situation is not the same as it was back when the Agrand council invited us. You see, in the forest that we use for foraging and hunting there are vicious demonic beasts that have been the bane of our existence for centuries. Until recently we were able to co-exist, but now for some reason they have become much more unpredictable and more territorial as well as more dangerous."

Unaffected by Aura's cold tone and expression, the elder continued to speak without any change in his facial expression or steadiness of his voice.

"Even if we asked the council for help, they would not accept, and even if they did they would not be able to deal with the power of these demonic creatures. Our tribe has a long and deep history with this forest and will not leave unless extermination is the only alternative. Thus, my request is the following: if your master can assist us with ridding the forest of these demonic creatures then we would be more than happy to return the favor."

Hearing this, the dark expression on Aura's face turned brighter as she even smiled at the old man with an adorable look in her eyes.

"That's all? That should be no problem at all for our lord. Then me and Mare will go out right now and slay those beasts so that you can accept Ainz-sama's terms."

As Aura said those words, the expressions of all the dark elves present turned to looks of shock and confusion. This dark elf boy had actually said that he and her little sister would take care of the demonic beasts that even their whole tribe had to live in fear from.

Even their exalted elder, who was both a master at using primal or true magic and was said to have breached the realm of divine tier magic, could only create spells to hide the tribe from the beasts' detection.

"Hold up a moment, esteemed emissaries. There's no need to be so hasty."

The elder lifted up his wrinkled hand as he stopped Aura from turning around and leaving already with Ainz and Mare.

"We have not yet established a formal contract or discussed the details of this pact. How could we ask of you to fulfill your end of the promise when we have not even signed any written promise? Instead, why don't you honorable emissaries stay and enjoy our hospitality for a day while I and the other wisemen of the tribe set up the contract?"

Aura looked over towards Mare and Momon as she looked for approval. Neither of them seemed averse to the idea and she nodded politely.

"Sure, we can stay for a day."

"Splendid, then I will be more than happy to accommodate you with anything you desire."

The elder almost seemed to smirk as he said those words which left most of the dark elves all the more surprised. This entire conversation had left them completely confused. Why was the elder taking this elf child seriously when he said he was going to slay the demon beasts? Why did the elder suddenly agree to Ainz Ooal Gown's demands? Even if their situation wasn't optimal, they weren't quite so desperate that they needed to already start relying on outside forces, were they? Or could it be that the elder was merely testing Ainz Ooal Gown to see what he was capable of?

None of them could understand the elder's logic and none of them tried as the age gap between them was too large for that. The elder's thoughts were more profound than they could even begin to comprehend and trying to figure him out would merely give them a headache.

"Then I would like to go out hunting animals! This forest seems like it could have a lot of cute pets or nice fur coats for me to collect."

As Aura said this, even the elder could not help but raise his brows ever so slightly. For a young boy like him to go out hunting was beyond bizarre and dangerous even in an ordinary forest. In the Black Woods where you could encounter beasts with a demonic lineage and even demon beasts, it was several fold more dangerous.

"I see… than I can assume that Fiore-sama is a ranger, correct? As luck would have it, we have a hunting party planned for tomorrow lead by our own hunting troupe. Tomorrow, you are more than welcome to accompany them. If there's a beast that strikes your fancy, you are more than welcome to take its fur as a trophy if it can be killed."

Hearing this, Aura made an even bigger grin as she happily quieted down. For her, catching special wild animals was her greatest passion after serving her lord. If she could acquire some more pets like that spider that Mare had brought her, then she would be more than elated.

"As for you, second esteemed emissary… something tells me that you are a mage or perhaps a druid?"

Mare's ears lightly twitched as the elder spoke to him as all that he could manage to squeeze out were a few words.

"Ah yes... yes, I mean… I'm indeed a druid."

The elder smiled as he looked at Mare with a kind and gentler expression than before.

"Then why don't you go and visit the sacred grounds where our tribe's druids gather? I'm sure you'll have much to talk about with them. Mica will guide you there."

"With pleasure!"

To Mare's terror, a delightful voice echoed behind him as Mica simply overjoyed sang out in approval of the elder's idea.

"As for the human adventurer… I'm afraid that you must understand that we cannot treat you the same as the emissaries, so I'll assign Camus to watch over you for the rest of the day. You may go almost anywhere in the tribe so long as you don't disturb the people, but it would be unwise to wander too much as not all of my people are friendly with humans."

The elder stroked his beard as he seemed already deep in thought about tomorrow's events.

"Well then… my men will escort you to your chambers. You may stay in this house, but you are forbidden from leaving your chambers until tomorrow morning when someone will come and pick you up."

With those final words, the trio bowed once more and departed with the other elves behind them, leaving only the elder, Camus, and his caretaker in the yard.

 **AA: now my story will apparently be translated to Russian as well! Never thought it would become that popular! On a side note, thinking of posting notice on light's downfall that I started second story as this one only has about a quarter of the follows and I can't believe only 50 people liked my previous work enough to follow this one.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: grim premonitions**

Camus watched as the two twins and Ainz walked away before shifting his gaze back to the Elder. He opened his mouth to say something but was halted by the elder's hand rising to indicate that he should remain quiet.

The elder's other hand ruffled around inside his robe before taking out what looked like a black stone that emanated a faint purple glow. The elder gripped the stone tightly before a magic aura spread out from it and covered the entire courtyard in a veil like membrane.

"Now we can talk freely."

The elder must have been wary of that ranger elf boy who naturally would have good hearing and could obviously not be allowed to hear what was about to be said.

"Elder, why on earth would you agree with such a blatant request for total submission? Those children may promise us the heavens, but in the end it is their master who must deliver. Considering he is an undead like the priest has said, isn't it too dangerous to affiliate ourselves with such a figure?"

Camus had been anxious from the moment he had heard the elder's words. Right now, he couldn't be bothered about the human called Momon as this matter concerned the well-being of the entire tribe.

"Huhu… Camus, you are still just barely 250 years old. You have not seen enough of the world to understand just how vast and profound the world outside is. And also…

"You did not see the eyes of that elf boy when he thought that I was going to reject his master's proposal."

Even Camus could see that the elder slightly shuddered when he said those last words. The elder was a druid on the level that no one in the human world could compare to and even he was afraid for some reason.

"Listen well, Camus, and remember these words! Tomorrow you are to tell your men and especially that deputy of yours to treat that elf kid with the utmost respect and care. That child may look like a little lamb that just learned how to walk, but I can assure you that he is more frightening than you can imagine and I firmly believe he has the personal strength to back it up. As for that elf girl, something tells me that her magic power may not even lose out to my own. Although I am unable to sense even the slightest bit of earthly magic from her, it is precisely because I can't that I think that she is hiding her true strength."

Camus had been listening in disbelief to the elder's words but in the end had no choice but to believe them. Servants of a master that could massacre entire armies with a single spell would naturally not be ordinary either. Especially since the two of them seemed to possess some level of status with their title of 'Floor Guardian'. He decided to put his doubts aside and simply do as he was told regarding this matter. However, that still left plenty of other things to discuss.

"What about the demon beasts and their kin?"

Hearing this question, the elder's face lit up as a slight smirk broke his otherwise unmoving visage.

"As we suspected, the Crimson Half-Dragon that took over the mountain has begun to quarrel with the White Moon Wolf who previously ruled over our patch of the forest. It's as if something scared it away from the mountain and forced it to look for new grounds. Because of his new conquest, all the other beasts have become weary of everything, including us dark elves. I fear that a vicious struggle between those two monsters may burn our entire forest to cinders."

The power of the half-dragon was especially troublesome and dangerous. Although it had originally been just a hybrid of a giant rock-lizard and a mountain dragon, after its transformation it had obtained the ability to breathe demonic flames, which, if unleashed, would burn the entire forest down before dying out. Not even the elder could prevent that.

Originally, the elves had lived in a part of the forest that formed the neutral region between the borders of two demonic beasts, but now the half-dragon of the mountain had begun his search for new land and challenged the demon wolf which caught the elves in the crossfire.

Now the elves needed to deal with not just one, but two demon beasts or their entire source of food would be reduced to nothing. This was why even though the elder would prefer not to, he was forced to accept Aura's proposal and promise submission in exchange for safety.

Suddenly, the elder's eyes widened as if he had felt some kind of dark chill flowing through him as he anxiously stared at Camus and hastily spoke.

"Camus, whatever you do tomorrow… do not anger or provoke that human Momon. I know of your grievances with humans, but please, I beg you… don't bring calamity upon us."

Camus widened his eyes when he heard the word 'beg' from the elder's mouth. He naturally would never do something if the elder forbade it, but to see him asking something so pleadingly left him dumbfounded.

But when he thought about having to be polite around a human…

 _Kill it! Kill it! In the name of the God of Light, purge this filth and its kin!_

Camus mind could not help but wonder to those horrible times. All the while, his hatred and killing intent boiled up again despite the elder's words.

"I will remember what the elder has told me."

Camus spoke softly as he bowed to the elder and left. Even if there were still other things to discuss, he felt that it would be a waste of breath as the elder and himself would not be able to come up with any solutions to their problems right now.

Watching him leave, the elder could not help but sigh. He was not stupid enough to believe that his words had gotten through to Camus, but his duty to watch someone as dangerous as Momon could not be handed to anyone else right now.

The elder looked up into the sky, or rather what should have been a sky and instead was only the ceiling of the cavern, dark and uninspiring and yet the elder's point of focus seemed to be something far beyond that as he softly spoke with a tired and slow voice.

"Great ancient elder… I have done as you asked. Have you truly made the right choice this time?"

Aside from him and a handful of others, not a single soul in the tribe knew of a secret so old that it predated their history in Lodos Forest. Before the fall of the ancient dark elf nation that ruled over all the western and central forest and ousted the elven kings from their thrones, twelve mighty dark elf elders ruled over their race and protected them from even the dragon lords. When the six beings renowned by humans as the Six Great Gods released humans from their satrapy status and freed them from the dark elves' hold, they killed ten of these great elders in the process. One had gone missing after the migration, but the last one hadn't. Even now that last elder had remained and continued to watch over the dark elf tribe from the shadows.

Usually this ancient entity was a bystander and remained quiet as time went on, but today it had sent a simple message containing six words to the elven elder.

"Momon is not to be provoked!"

These simple words had shaken the elder to his core and might have even shaved off some years of his lifespan. But it didn't matter. The ancient ancestral elder's words were like decrees from heaven. No matter what, they would not be ignored or taken lightly. Not while the current elder was still alive.

Of course, the elder had heard about what Ainz Ooal Gown had done in the Slane Theocracy and had unwillingly turned the event into a minor celebration for the tribe just because even back then they could use some good news. But even when Ainz Ooal Gown's name had been mentioned, the ancient elder had remained mute. So why would he speak up when the human Momon was concerned?

All of this left even the elder confused and dazzled while he hoped that soon everything would become clear. The divination priest of the tribe foretold that a great event that would decide the future of the tribe was coming and it made the elder wonder…

"Will it be Ainz Ooal Gown that changes our destiny? Or will perhaps this human Momon somehow change our fate?"

The future was clouded in uncertainty as the female caretaker closed her book and walked up to the elder with some medicine in hand. It was time for her to begin the elder's daily treatment and it was time for the tribe to fall in slumber as tomorrow…

A whole new day was about to begin.

 **AA: another day another chapter! so that we're all on the same page here: the tribe thinks that Mare is a girl and Aura a boy! if i make any mistakes regarding their gender please keeps this in mind. also for future reference: demon beast= one of the five original corrupted beasts that rule over Lodos, demonic beasts= their kin with demonic lineage.**

 **please follow and favorite as i really really want this story to be able to crack top three. no matter how shallow that dream might seem!**

 **anyways that's all for now and remember!**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Troubles of a lord**

Contrary to Ainz's expectations, he wasn't given a bad chamber by any means. It was rather comfortable and spacious, which made him curious as to who slept here before him. Ainz wasn't naïve enough to believe that a recluse race like the dark elves actually had something like a guest chamber.

Ainz naturally didn't sleep at all that night. Even if he wanted to, he would not be able to fall asleep due to his current constitution. Instead, he spent the whole night thinking about various problems back in Nazarick and how to deal with them.

The plan to turn Nazarick into a self-sustaining guild base by setting up plantations for harvest was coming along nicely, but was still a far cry from the monthly expense needed to sustain the tomb. The subjugation of E-Rantel had helped quite a lot as Ainz could now, on top of his Adventurer income, also set aside some tax revenue for the upkeep of the Tomb. The money in E-Rantel had now been switched from royal currency to imperial coin as a sign of friendship with the empire, but this secretly also benefitted them greatly as E-Rantel had always been a hub for trade between the kingdom and the empire. Even with Ainz's conquest, this had not changed much other than now most trade with the kingdom was done secretly, whereas before it was done secretly with the empire.

Demiurge had mentioned that the continuing destruction of a nation's currency might have some economic repercussions in the future, but naturally Ainz had not been able to make sense of most of what was said. The short of it was that there would be consequences later on for the empire, but that was hardly a point of concern for Ainz at the moment.

The most surprising report that Ainz now had to deal with was the one from Lupusregina in Carne village. Who would have thought that that silly little horn of the goblin general could actually summon so many goblin soldiers? For now, Ainz had found a temporary solution for them, but the fact of the matter was that 5,000 low-medium level goblins were not something that he could dismiss. Even if he could easily destroy such a force, there was no merit in doing so as they could not pose a threat to him and moreover were led by someone who owed a massive debt of gratitude to Ainz. The real problem was that the army needed to have a place to live and food to eat as well as clothing and more. This was not something that could be solved overnight.

As for his conquest of the world…

At least that was coming along rather smoothly.

The kingdom of E-Rantel was, as Demiurge put it, "fait accompli", or in other words: their fate was sealed. Whether it was in terms of military or financial revenue, political stability, or leadership, the kingdom's future looked extremely grim. After the massacre at Katze Plains, it was obvious that the kingdom was just a house of cards waiting to collapse. It was not long now until the nobles would revolt against their failed monarch, and it was then that Nazarick would seize its chance and force the entire kingdom to submit. At least that was how Demiurge had roughly put it.

The empire likewise was already a foregone matter. Its entire foundation had been Fluder and its trained army that surpassed conscripts by a large margin. Without Fluder, what threat could they pose if they did not possess any World Class Items like the Slane Theocracy? As for the Slane Theocracy itself?

Ainz's eyes flickered as he thought back on what he had done. His activation of the super tier spell [Rains of Banjir] had turned Astousa into an apocalyptic city where only the dead roamed. Eventually, when people started to return to Astousa in hopes of finding survivors the only thing they found was death.

Fortunately, the affected zombie citizens could only exist on the desecrated ground that Ainz had created by summoning the rain. The radius was just a bit smaller than the capital, so luckily the undead would not be able to spread out into the outside world. That was a fate that even Ainz did not want to unleash upon the innocent citizens of the Slane Theocracy. For now, they had already suffered enough. Ainz himself was not proud of what he had done, but even now he still relished the thought that the ones who forced him to kill Shalltear were being tortured to madness by Neuronist and Shalltear herself or were already given to demiurge for 'testing'. Eventually they would be all turned into undead by Ainz and forced to slave away for the good of Nazarick until the end of time. But all those innocent civilians…

The emotion of regret had mostly left Ainz, but he still felt that last little tinge of human compassion deep within himself. It was a good thing that most of his emotions were suppressed or he would definitely be incapable of leading Nazarick after massacring all those humans.

Without their capital and their precious treasures, the Slane Theocracy was a beaten foe and in time would be absorbed into the fold, but for now was not important.

All that was left were the other human nations that thus far had remained obscured from Ainz's focus and the small demi-human nations that did not interact much with the human world such as the dark elves, the dwarven kingdom, or the lizard men. For now, these were much more important than the weakened human nations that Ainz had already beaten.

"Hmmm?"

As his thoughts wandered, Ainz felt a message call ringing and placed his fingers on his temple to answer, but not before activating an item that made eavesdropping impossible.

"Ainz-sama, please forgive the intrusion of your mission, but might I ask if the dark elves have already subjected to the rule of Nazarick?"

The voice sounded demure and refreshing, yet petite as Ainz recognized Shalltear as the owner of the voice right away.

"Not yet, Shalltear, they still have some conditions for us to complete but it should be a trivial matter to finish the job and force them to submit."

"Oooh?"

The voice sounded strangely disappointed as if expecting to already hear a summary of how the elves kowtowed before their new lord.

"My goodness, those elves sure are impudent. To think that they actually dare to place conditions before they become our newest satrapy. Are all of them perhaps even more arrogant than that shorty? Ainz-sama, please tell me if we need to send soldiers and eliminate their tribe."

Ainz lightly chuckled as he heard Shalltear's words. The thought of destroying a tribe he had come to solely to find some companions for Aura and Mare was laughable. Especially since they fit in so well with the rest of Nazarick. No, this place would become protected ground and Mare and Aura would be able to find the ilk that they missed in Nazarick. Even if they were artificial and these elves were not, they would still suffice to fill the void for now. These were Ainz's truest thoughts.

"No need for violence, Shalltear. We shall catch more with honey than with vinegar. Just keep me posted if anything of major importance arises in Nazarick or in E-Rantel."

"As you command Ainz-sama-."

With that, the voice faded and Ainz was once again left alone with his thoughts. So many things needed attention and so few of his subordinates could be trusted to solve the matter with wisdom instead of force. He knew for certain that this trip might as well be a vacation, for when he got back to Nazarick there would be a mountain of things to do…

 **AA: and we're back! Yesterday I had a choice: write another chapter or go watch Civil war… so who wants popcorn?! Here's another chapter that I hope you enjoyed and please if you enjoy don't forget to like and follow.**

 **PS: to that one reviewer of Light's Downfall that thought it would be funny to name himself Maruyama Kugane, joke's on you I don't have readers in japan!**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A new day

The days in the dark elf tribe were correspondent with the days outside the cavern. The magic crystals would be covered up in accordance with the sunset to prevent sleeplessness amongst the tribe's members.

Ainz guessed that it was somewhere between six and seven in the morning when someone finally came to wake him up.

A soft knocking sound on the door was all he heard, but it sufficed since he had never been asleep in the first place. Instead, he merely attained his knight form and was lying on the bed when he heard the knock.

Ainz got up and opened the door only to see four armed elf guards stand at his door, one of them Camus, who was equipped in much lighter gear compared to yesterday. Unlike his clothing, his killing intent was still sharp, although he tried to keep it hidden for some reason.

"Could you be so kind as to tell me where the two elves are?"

Ainz's question was not one of curiosity but merely politeness as he didn't want to come off as overly conceited. Besides, he would have to spend the entire day with probably these four dark elves. The least he could do was talk a little to them to pass the time.

"The two esteemed emissaries have already left, you on the other hand are advised to stay inside this room until they return." One of the men beside Camus grumbled.

"Ooh?"

Ainz was curious how they managed to get the sleepyhead Mare out of his bed. Most likely Aura woke him up.

"Well then, let's go see some of the cavern's sights."

Completely ignoring the casual threat from the dark elf, Ainz stepped out of his room and proceded towards the the edge of the rock where the rowboats were moored. To the great dissatisfaction of the four dark elves, they were forced to go along and escort Ainz back to the main part of the tribe.

Seeing as there was no other choice Camus sat down with Ainz in the same boat while the other three dark elves took another rowboat. And so they departed for the tribe's central region.

As the boat left and floated towards the shore of the underground lake, almost no one noticed that the elder that would usually sit under his tree day and night in meditation had actually stood up and watched the rowboat leave. The only person that had seen him get up was his caretaker who stood a bit behind him as she threw a couple of glances at the boat with Ainz on it before heading back to the courtyard to prepare some more medicine for the elder.

Although few in the clan knew of this, the elder was actually not as strong and powerful as he was in his prime anymore. His power had dwindled due to a certain event some time ago. Ever since that time, he had been forced to take medicine made from herbs in the forest to keep his condition stable. But with the problems surrounding the demon beasts…

A complicated look was visible on the elder's eyes as he stared at the armoured figure that quietly rowed himself and Camus to the shore. Usually it should have been Camus who rowed the boat seeing as Ainz was something like an honoured guest. But Ainz was actually rowing the boat all the while Camus simply watched with an irked expression. The elder wanted to fly over and reprimand Camus, but that would ruin his standing and reputation as the dignified elder.

Suddenly, he felt a tremor run through his body. The amount of medicine he had been able to take in was not even half of what was needed, and the effects were beginning to show themselves. Before he would have been able to cast the sixth tier spell [Heal] on himself, but after he had lost some of his power, fifth tier spells had become his maximum and spells of that level would prove insufficient.

 _Great ancestor, I solemnly swear that before this body of mine falls, I will see our tribe entrusted to someone reliable if that is your wish. But I wonder, why do you not lead them in my stead?_

If the ancestor would reveal himself, then the entire tribe and all of its clans would naturally follow without batting an eye or a single word of complaint. And yet all that proved they still had an ancestor were the occasional words of guidance that he sent towards the elder. The whole thing was extremely confusing.

At this time, Ainz and Camus docked at the shore of the lake where Hamsuke and five more dark elves were standing in wait of them.

Hamsuke had clearly been guarded by these elves throughout the entire night as they waited for Camus to return. It was not often that a magical beast like this entered their home, and it needed to be watched carefully. Fortunately, the beast had been quite docile and even commended them for bravely standing guard near it. At the same time, it had been conversing from time to time with a strange bead that it carried around its neck, as if having a conversation with it. The guards in all honesty didn't know what to make of it.

"Yo, Hamsuke. I trust you haven't been a burden to these men during the night."

Seeing its master, the giant hamster's eyes lit up as it perched it head in order to respectfully greet him.

"No, of course not, dono. I have been waiting here patiently for your return. That I have− gozaru. Will we be heading back into the forest now?"

"No, Hamsuke, since this is a rare opportunity to see some marvellous sights, let's instead look around the caverns a bit more. I hope that's alright with you… I'm sorry, what was your name again, dark elf-san?

Ainz looked at Camus who had been listening to the conversation with a vexed face. The very fact that the elder had ordered him to be respectful to Ainz meant he could not deny him without a clear reason.

"Fine, let's go then, Momon… san."

Ignoring how forced that response sounded, Ainz strolled off with the group as the dark elves followed behind him with pained expressions. Meanwhile, Hamsuke cheerfully chatted with Ainz about the magnificence of the cavern, saying things along the lines of how incomparable it was to his old cave.

Passing through the cavern, Ainz had to admit that this world's nature was far more extravagant and unbridled than nature back on earth. After so many years of pollution and environmental neglect, Earth's nature and wildlife had diminished quite a bit, but in this world it was as of yet untouched for the most part. Ainz had no real emotions left in him, but he still had the human capacity of appreciating beauty.

The more Ainz walked around, the more agitated Camus who stood behind him got as he was forced to walk through practically the entire tribe despite the advice not to, and even the elder casually mentioning not to do so yesterday.

Finally, the group of elves arrived at an open circular area where the ground was smoothed out and surrounded by a humble wooden fence. The area slightly peaked Ainz's interest.

"That area, what is it used for?"

Camus' eyes narrowed as he responded whilst trying to remain as polite as possible.

"That's the arena. It's where we train our 100-200 years old recruits who wish to join the hunting troupe, Momon-san… After they finish their training that lasts 30-50 years, they attain a level far surpassing the level of lowly human adventurers."

As much as he tried, he was unable to keep that small insult from slipping out. This caused great delight amongst his men, who likewise had no love for humans but had been forced to keep in their complaints since Ainz was a guest and protected by the elder's decree.

"Say, I've been meaning to ask this for a while now. Why is it that you have such a burning hatred for me, Camus-dono? I don't remember ever wronging you in this life."

To these words, Camus' face contorted as he portrayed an ugly frown with the veins in his forehead beginning to swell. The question made him recall the events that caused him to feel such hatred and that by itself was enough to send him into a killing spree of all humans near him. If it hadn't been for the direct order of the elder, he would've already tried to lynch Ainz and forge it as an accident.

"It's not something you humans with your pathetic lives will ever be able to understand. Us elves don't mourn our dead for a day or for a year, we mourn them for a hundred and keep grudges for much longer. If it wasn't for the elder asking that I don't do anything stupid, I would have already beaten you to death just for being human!"

Ainz looked calmly at Camus who seemed almost foaming from the mouth as he spoke. The light behind his helmet seemed to change as he replied in a completely undisturbed manner.

"Then would you like to have a duel with me?"

"Haaaaah?" x7

 **AA: I finally think that I figured out why my stories aren't as popular as the best ones on this place. It's because all the best ones have this HUGE DxD obsession. With character sheets and everything. Forgive me if I will not descend into tabletop games madness by sketching out the stats and profile of every important character. Personally I don't have special feelings for DxD, so me just staying true to my own style will have to do. :p**

 **PS: slight surprise incoming**

 **And as always**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN**


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: proving yourself

"Oi, you bastard… do you even know what you have just said?"

Despite every warning that the elder had given him, Camus simply boiled with anger. The combination of being reminded of the reason why he hated humans and the clear challenge by Ainz caused him to internally flare up and discard any form of courtesy that he had tried to keep.

"You clearly have a deep grudge and unresolved vengeance with humans, but depending on how long it's been since whatever tragedy occurred, those humans might already be rotting in the ground. You shouldn't generalise humans just because you have suffered at the hands of a couple."

At this point, it was the last straw for Camus who drew his sword and pointed it at Ainz.

How could this insignificant human understand what Camus or any of the dark elves had been through? A human understanding just how precious a life was to elves who shared lifetimes and centuries with their children or spouse. The loss of a single dark elf was mourned for sometimes years on end in their tribe, and the parents or siblings would often seclude themselves for decades of mourning their lost family.

Dark elves were not as fickle or as indecent as humans and did not mate anywhere near as easily as humans did. At least not most of them. Dark elves spend much longer around a potential spouse and to them trying for children was something of a magical moment that only happened on a special occasion. A solar eclipse or when the harvest that their tribe reaped was the biggest that they had seen in history. Their belief was that those conceived or born on a special day would be blessed for all their centuries to come. Due to this, every child was like a precious treasure, and every man who took it away from the tribe...

"You and me in the arena, now!"

Ainz simply chuckled as he and Camus stepped into the small arena while the other six elves watched from behind the fence. All of them wanted to stop Camus since the elder had made a decree, but the emissaries of Ainz Ooal Gown were those two dark elves. The adventurer Momon was just their escort and he himself had requested this duel. Also, to see a human beaten to the ground was always a pleasant sight to watch. After all, Camus had the strength and skill that would place him on par with any orichalcum adventurer in the human world. His combat prowess as the captain of the hunting troupe was not for show after all.

Ainz himself couldn't be more elated about Camus accepting his challenge. This dark elf most clearly carried a grudge against humans to the extreme. That did not conform to Ainz's plans. This place in time would be integrated in Ainz's new empire and that would mean obligatory human interaction. If by that time this dark elf was still such a human hater, it would just cause more problems. Not to mention that he seemed to occupy a rather high position in the tribe.

If he could beat Camus here and force him to submit, then it would be all the more profitable for Ainz who wanted to unite all races under his banner. Camus, or rather his tribe, was merely a pit stop on that perilous and long road.

Against a foe of this level, he didn't even need his two giant swords as he took one of the practice wooden swords that lay around the arena and pointed it at Camus. Looking at his foe, Ainz remained unimpressed. His opponent had a rather lean and well-built physique that even some of the more muscular adventurers wouldn't dare to scoff at. Although his armour was light with no real form of defence against slashing or stabbing, it wouldn't be so easy for bludgeoning attacks to inflict serious damage against him.

"Hey, are you sure you're going to be okay with that toy for a weapon? I'm just asking because if I beat you one-sidedly the elder will be on my ass instead of yours if you are beaten to death because you chose to defend yourself with a wooden sword."

"Consider it my handicap with our armour being so uneven in quality. More importantly, are you going to attack or chat all day?"

Ainz strengthened his stance as he taunted Camus into attacking

Camus was a veteran who had decades of training and preparation as he had to be ready to fight even the demon beasts if the situation demanded it. Why on earth would he react from such a small taunt?

"[Stride of Wind], [Duel Master], [Evasion Boost], [Earth Splitter], [Ability Boost]!"

Instead, he first prepared himself as he activated multiple martial arts. All this he did while keeping a close eye on Momon, who surprisingly simply stood there and watched him prepare himself. Humans truly were the most arrogant of the more intelligent species. And that was why they were destined to fail. This would be their downfall eventually, of this Camus was convinced.

 _I'll start off light and won't reveal too much of my hand. Let's see if this human has even the capability to keep up with me visually whilst I dance around him. He'll likely fall after one or maybe two attacks!_

With that, Camus charged in and with logic defying speed swept around Ainz whilst kicking up a dust trail in his wake. This was both a confirmation of just how fast he was and to blind Ainz's vision. With that narrow slit in his helmet, his foe would already be hard-pressed to see straight and now he would see even less.

Still believing that his enemy had been completely caught off guard by his foe's speed, Camus changed the direction of his dash and swung his sword at Ainz's back. His aim was the gap between the helmet and the back of the armour where it was at its weakest excluding the slit for the eyes.

With full force, he lashed out and could almost imagine the blade of his sword slashing through Ainz's flesh and decapitating his head in one fell swoop.

This… didn't happen as a strange sound resounded at the moment of impact.

 **AA: tadah! A second chapter! Consider it my way of saying sorry for not making it to the release scheduled on yesterday! Yes I know it's even smaller than usual! You try writing at 2 am!**

 **PS: thx for those who saw the slight error in the previous chapter. Already patched it!**

 **And as always**

 **Glory to AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: An Insurmountable Gap**

Camus and the rest of the dark elves naturally could not compare with their forging skills to the great dwarfs that lived in the mountains between the Baharuth Empire and Re-Estize Kingdom. Their skills when it came to forging weapons at most amounted to just barely being able to reform them and maintain their sharpness. A sword being broken was a tragedy as repairing it was nearly impossible for them.

If their isolationist lifestyle had any real downsides, it was being cut off from things that they could not get by themselves like new armour and equipment. Most of what they used was more than several decades old. Due to this, it was such a painful sight when…

"Aaah! My blade!"

To Camus' horror, he saw how even though he struck a relatively weak spot in Momon's armour, it was still thick and strong enough to not only chip but even break Camus' blade. This blade was not the best in the tribe by any means, as to have the captain walk around with a high quality blade would be seen as arrogant, but it was still a priceless weapon in the tribe as they had almost no way to replace it.

There was not much time to mourn his loss as Camus snapped out of his shock when he felt the blade of a sword swinging at him with miraculous speed and weight. It was not an exaggeration to say that it carried enough strength to take his head off in one fell swoop.

By pure luck that his reflexes moved before his mind did, Camus was able to sway back just enough for the wooden blade to graze past him and just skim the tip of his nose.

Immediately, he dashed back several steps before finally focusing on what had happened.

In his entire existence, he had only once come across armour that could break the blades that tried to pierce it. This armour had been worn by people who called themselves adamantine adventurers who had come on what they called a quest to 'locate' tribes of demi-humans so that the kingdom could establish trade with them. Back then, the late captain of the hunter troupe exchanged blows with them but was unable to force out more than a draw. Until the day he died, he regretted not being able to kill them as due to them getting away, the kingdom learned of their existence which caused slave-masters who sold exotic slaves to be drawn to their forest. Thanks to those adventurers, half of an entire generation of elf children was stolen away. Never to be seen again.

 _Could this man be the same? Could he be one of those adamantine adventurers?_

At this point, Camus' eyes turned bloodshot as intense madness boiled within him. Before, Momon had announced himself as a human in service of the skeleton sorcerer Ainz Ooal Gown, but with this amount of skill and his carefree attitude whilst traversing forests, it should have been apparent that this man was an adventurer of high calibre form the very beginning! Now that he knew that, it didn't matter if he was whipped to death by the elder or even caused the scorn of the Sorcerer King. He would gladly die, but not before he chopped off this bastard's head!

If ten men were asked whether Camus was just a vengeful fool at this moment who didn't consider the immense repercussions of what he was about to do, they would all say yes. But if they were ten inhabitants of the tribe, they would agree with Camus and say they would do the same in his stead. This was the insurmountable gap in mentality between humans and nonhumans. To dark elves, some things weighed more than logic or consideration. Even if their actions meant an even worse fate tomorrow, to them that was still a sunset away whereas they lived in the now. Humans who possessed this kind of thinking weren't impossible to find, but were in the minority when compared to normal humans that wouldn't let emotions get the better of them if it could mean death for not just themselves but all their loved ones as well.

Camus gritted his teeth as he looked at Momon who was standing there in front of him without moving. He looked completely calm despite having just brushed off a deadly attack simply due to the durability of his armour.

Unlike his opponent, the black clad warrior stood like a mountain and seemed unfazed by the amount of killing intent that oozed out of Camus like a current.

 _Strong armour and astounding speed and strength combined by a strong mental fortitude… this one won't be easy by myself and without my blade._

With his blade destroyed, there was only one option open to Camus and that was to use his spare dagger as a substitute. With just a dagger against near impenetrable armour, his choice of targetable areas was that much smaller, but his mobility would be that much more flexible.

To elven warriors like himself, speed was his greatest weapon. Even if his foe was stronger, he had still been unable to counter Camus until after his attack had hit. The fact remained that he couldn't keep up with him before. But now…

"[Black Stride], [Mirage Step], [Greater Execute]!"

Camus activated his three martial skills that would give him the greatest evasion rate and step-in speed along with equally great destructive attack. As long as his opponent wouldn't be able to counter, it would guarantee a win.

It bugged Camus that Momon had not activated any martial skills of his own. Even those adamantine adventurers back when they fought the previous captain had been forced to match their skills with the captain's if they didn't want to die.

As he began closing in step by step and was preparing to dash towards Momon, Camus decided that it was probably due to human arrogance. Just because he clearly had some skill, this human believed that he was capable of fighting Camus one on one without any martial skills.

Holding on to that train of thought…

Camus dashed towards Momon.

An enormous amount of dust flared up as Camus neared Momon who still had not put up any real guard as he simply stood motionlessly in place. He had barely taken any form of fighting stance in front of Camus who shot towards him with the speed of an arrow that was straight on point.

Just as Camus was about to enter Momon's range, he changed the flow of his movements as he employed a special foot technique to rapidly shift directions. This was an even more advanced trick than the one he had used before to get behind Momon. If this human couldn't see through the previous technique, he would not be able to see through this one either. With that in mind, Camus shifted his position and seemingly teleported out of sight as he sidestepped to Momon's right side. Whilst the latter would still be confused as to where Camus had gone, he would execute his killer move and stab Momon straight through the slit in his helmet.

All of this would happen in the time it would take to blink and at the end of it all Momon would be dead.

At least that was what was supposed to happen…

 **AA: so remember how I took a day off to see Civil War? Guess who else went to see it! Decided to give my beta a day off since I don't think you can focus on editing after seeing such a good movie! So here's today's chapter! Using Momon now all the time to make sure I don't make any more mistakes! If you're angry cuz I made it ANOTHER cliff-hanger… plz feel free to pm me all your tears cuz I heard they taste quite good.**

 **And as always**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: a sorry state**

Momon walked nonchalantly in the direction of the cave's entrance. Right about now, the dark elves' hunter troupe would return from their trip outside with Aura alongside them. Momon wanted to go see whether or not she had been able to make friends amongst the other dark elves.

As Momon and Hamsuke trotted along on their way to the entrance, behind them four sorry figures closely followed with a grim expression on their faces. The worst of the lot was Camus, whose face displayed a large purple bruise just beneath his left eye as he grumbled something incomprehensible. The other three elves were not in a much better state as they looked quite ragged and likewise had unpleasant looks on their faces as they silently followed behind Momon.

"Damn that inhuman bastard! What the hell is up with that ridiculous strength?"

Camus could not help but softly mutter those words as he walked behind Momon with his head slumped.

He was the leader of the hunter troupe and frequently came face to face with creatures of a demonic lineage, but today he had actually lost to a mere human. The shame he felt was not something that could be described with words alone.

In the moment where he thought that he had gotten the drop on his opponent, he instead had been countered with the hilt of Momon's weapon and smashed to the side of the practice ring. The worst part was that he had never even seen it coming; even though he closely observed his opponent whilst executing his moves, he had been unable to so much as sense the moment when the counterattack began.

Camus' subordinates were not much better off. When they saw their leader getting thrashed, they lost their self-control and charged at Momon in blind rage.

The only result that they achieved was being thrown to the side like ragdolls by Momon's insane strength.

By right, the four of them should have been thrown into prison for assaulting a foreign guest, but Momon instead laughed off the incident as a case of getting too excited during a practice bout and said that he wouldn't say a word of this to their elder.

In truth, Ainz said these words as he fully understood that there must be some kind of uncorrectable grudge between dark elves and humans, deeper than anything that he had imagined before. To punish them for what was probably a justified hatred against humans would be unjust. Ainz more than anyone knew what kind of cruelty humans were truly capable off. Besides, since he posed as Momon he needed to give off a feeling of being different from ordinary humans so that the elves would at least trust him a little.

All this only had an opposite effect on Camus and his men as they viewed his actions as their enemy taking pity on them. But now they wouldn't dare to voice any complaints or make sneering remarks as they were now the losers. To say anything more would only bring greater shame to them.

Finally, the group walked out of the cave as they saw how the sun was already setting and around this time the hunter troupe should be returning with their spoils.

During the day, Momon had toured most of the cavern and seen much of the cave's natural beauty, but now finally the time had come to pick up the twins and head back to the elder to finish their dealings.

"Say, Camus-dono, when exactly is the hunter party due to arrive back? I hope they won't be too long as it would be rather rude to present them to the elder late at night."

Camus didn't even raise his head as he emotionlessly answered Momon's question.

" At night, the cave will be closed, so naturally they will return here before that happens, Momon..."

There was not even a "san" added to that sentence as Camus lifelessly kept looking at the he could, Camus would not answer Momon at all, but now that he had nowhere to put his face anymore from sheer shame, it was best to just calmly answer any questions and hope that this horrible day would be over as quickly as possible.

Finally, several figures began to emerge from the forest as Momon and the other leves noticed around twenty demi-humans slowly walking towards the cave.

It didn't take long for them to notice that the way these elves moved was odd. Their postures were crooked and their shoulders slumped, not to mention their heads were lowered to the point their chins almost touched their chests.

All this painted an almost exaggerated picture of depression as it looked as if each of these elves had lost all will to live.

Amongst them there was only one exception.

Just one elf seemed happy and elated as it cheerfully trotted towards the cave's entrance whilst it carried something behind it that looked like the fur of a large animal. Although, what animal this fur belonged to was hard to tell.

The elf's ears were unlike the rest of the groups were, not drooping, and instead were raised high and proudly as the elf child skipped over to Momon as soon as it saw him.

Of course, this elf child was none other than Aura who happily greeted her lord in disguise with a V-sign as soon as she got close.

Camus on the other hand turned to his vice-captain who was in charge of leading the troupe in his absence. He was worried that they might have encountered some kind of danger as even his vice-captain was extremely depressed.

"Arthon, what the hell happened to you? Did you have another encounter with a demonic beast or one of its kin?"

The elf that Camus addressed finally looked dejectedly as he heard his commander almost shouting at him.

"Oh, captain-san, you were actually talking to me? I just assumed that such an insignificant bug like myself is unworthy of being noticed by other lifeforms."

Hearing these words, Camus' face turned green as he could not begin to comprehend what could have caused this kind of depression. Could the hunter troupe have encountered some kind of depression virus?

"Spit it out you son of the red leaf clan! What in the world happened to you?"

Having lost all patience, he finally shouted at the top of his lungs. But all it seemed to do was cause the already extremely depressed vice-captain to fall on his knees with his arms grasping his head.

After some quiet sobbing, the vice-captain finally looked up at Camus and softly spoke through his tears.

"Captain-san… let's just give up."

 **AA: AND WE ARE BACK! Missed me? Exams are over… well sort of… let's just say that I got nothing to worry about and have the time to write new chapters so let's get back into this!**

 **PS: Nigel the official translator of the previous volumes of overlord has also begun his very own "fanfic" (note the "" that point out how awesome it is) that you should REALLY check out. No you REAALLY SHOULD READ THIS "FANFIC". Link has already been posted in reviews in think here or in lights downfall. So go do that.**

 **And as always**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: A day in Lodos with Aura 1**

Although it was impossible to tell from looking outside the window, Aura felt that the sun must have come up outside already.

As a ranger, she was quite sensitive to these things. In the wild, sunrise meant a completely different cycle of life was about to start as various animals awoke from their slumber while others were going to sleep to conserve energy for the following night.

Aura herself didn't really need sleep. One of the rings on her finger was plenty to make sure she never needed food or sleep in order to serve Nazarick without halt. However, Ainz still demanded that the guardians relax once in awhile in order to avoid mental stress which their rings did not protect them from. The fact that Albedo, who managed most of Nazarick's internal workings, retreated to her private room every once in awhile was proof that this was true.

Despite this Aura had hardly been burdened with a mountain of tasks and had almost no need to relax. This in turn at times made her feel like she was not trusted enough by her master to be tasked with more work. But she quickly cast those thoughts aside as she knew all too well that her master was wise beyond comprehension and everything he did had meaning. Her not getting as many tasks as the others must simply mean that he had other plans for her.

Having decided that this was the reason, Aura finally raised her upper body from the bed and looked around the room.

The room was not extravagant or well decorated, and if one considered that it was the sleeping place for emissaries, it would be interpreted as quite rude by most foreign dignitaries. However, one had to take into account that this was probably a room previously occupied by some important figure who worked in the elder's house. And they had been forced to rapidly turn this into a guest room for the twins.

Although it was dark, Aura could clearly see everything as her class and race provided ample passives that increased vision and detection. To her, the room may as well have been completely lit as she lazily looked around whilst recovering from a slight daze she was in. At last, her eyes focused as she became fully awake and jumped out of the bed whilst even making a somersault during the jump.

Almost waiting for the applause that she naturally knew would never come, she stood in place for a bit without moving before she finally gave up on receiving praise. This was just a bit of an immature quirk she had that she sometimes wondered if her creator had put this in her or if she was just like this because she was effectively still a child.

Getting a bit depressed by the puzzling question, she angrily decided to turn to her brother in order to vent her anger on him.

Not surprisingly at all, she noticed that even after all the commotion she had made, her brother was still soundly sleeping in bed as all that he lacked was the proverbial bubble coming out his nose and he would simply be the picture of being deeply sleeping.

Not showing any mercy, she walked up to the other side of the bed and with an evil grin on her face…

"Wake up you lazy whimp!"

She promptly tilted the bed at such an angle that her brother could not do anything but fall off.

Mare felt as it the entire world had been upside down, which to him most likely seemed like the truth. All he could do was meekly cry out with a shrill voice as he tumbled on the the floor.

"Eeeeh, what has happened? Why is Oneesan being mean so early in the morning?"

"It's because of your habit of sleeping through the end of times! Today the two of us will spend a day with the other dark elves and you are not the least bit excited or worried! Today might be the first time you are actually able to make some friends, aren't you the least bit interested?"

Mare who was stilled rolled up in his blanket like a worm seemed to ponder what his sister had sid for a bit before he finally responded.

"That's because… besides nee-san and Ainz-sama I don't really need anyone else, I think!"

Hearing this, Aura's eyes twitched as she walked over to her brother and squatted down so that their eyes would be on the same level. Before she raised her hand and quietly…

"Ouch! Why did you hit me nee-san?"

"Because you are being stupid again, Mare! Why did you think that Ainz-sama went to all this trouble to bring us here to this dark elves' tribe?"

Mare looked at his sister in a confused manner before he finally responded…

"To forge an alliance and eventually make the dark elves submit to Naza… Ouch, it hurts! Why did nee-san hit me again?"

"Say just one more stupid thing and I'll smack you for real till your HP turns red! Ainz-sama's true purpose is not something so ludicrous as to make these weak elves submit! His true intent is to give me and specifically you people we can be friends with. Think about it, we are the only dark elves in Nazarick so Ainz-sama must think we are lonely."

At this point, Aura raised her finger like a teacher giving her stupid pupil a lesson.

"In other words, I'm giving you a special quest as your elder sister. If by the end of the day you have not made a single friend, you will be punished. Be prepared!"

At this point, the still dazed Mare seemed to have finally woken up.

"Eeeeh? I mean… eeeh? Do I have to? That's impossible, nee-san!"

"No objections are allowed! This is Ainz-sama's will, after all!"

Mare finally stood up as he seemed deep in thought. After having figured something out, he finally asked.

"Then can I use magic to turn one of them into a friend?"

…..

At this time, through the corridor walked a group of six dark elves with a stiff expression on most of their faces. The one exception was the dark elf at the front who bore a bright smile as she darted towards the room where Mare and Aura were. Mica was simply too excited about today as she would get a whole day to spend with her new interest, she made no secret of this. The other five elves who were all members of the demon hunting troupe could but regretfully keep their mouths shut as even their captain had no way of dealing with this girl's whims, let alone them.

Mica was the first to arrive at the door but still had enough tact to wait until the rest arrived before she finally knocked on the big wooden door and with an excited voice called out.

"Esteemed emissaries, the sun has risen outside and a new day has begun. I hope you're ready for your very own day in Lodos Forest!"

There was a slight pause of silence before a shrill voice finally rang out from the other side of the door.

"OUCH! OUCH! IT HURTS, IT HURTS! I wasn't serious, stop!"

Hearing this, the eyes of the six widened as they could only collectively make a single sound.

"Huh?"

 **AA: and today's or rather tonight's chapter is ready. Splitting the story in two in case you haven't figured it out. Also thinking of writing a commemorative epilogue for Light's Downfall since I kinda cheated with the epilogue and the story is about to reach 100000 views!**

 **PS: a lot of people keep asking me and I'll say it once more. Check reviews for lodos and on first if not certainly second page you will find the link to the "fanfic" that the TRANSLATOR of overlord is writing!**

 **And as always**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: A day in Lodos with Aura part 2**

"What is even wrong with you? How dare you bully someone so beautiful and fragile?!"

A small group of six elves was walking on the path that led to the outside as one of them shouted those accusing words.

At the front was Mica who was still angry at Aura for hitting Mare. Just behind her were the twins with Aura walking right behind Mica whilst having an annoyed expression on her face. Behind her back was the cowering Mare who was actually using his sister as a shield from Mica.

Right after Mica had heard him getting hit, she had stormed into the room and grabbed him away from his sister whilst giving his sister a thorough lecture. In the meantime, she was hugging him ever so tightly to her chest to the point it became incredibly embarrassing and uncomfortable for him. Of course, she would never be able to actually suffocate him as that would require immense physical strength or some kind of high tiered spell, but the very sensation of being "squeezed" by this elf girl made Mare incredibly weary of Mica.

So at least for now he would keep as much distance as he could from her.

"Mica-sama, you mustn't be rude to the emissaries. Besides, they're clearly siblings so it's usual for the older sibling to educate the younger one. It would be best not to get mixed up."

Behind the twins, at the very back, walked the three elves who had escorted Mica all the way up to the twins' chamber. These three elves all were part of the demon troupe and had to somehow get along with Aura for the rest of the day as they took her with them. So naturally they would put in some effort to try and get on Aura's good side, even if it meant getting in the way of Mica's tantrums.

All this did however was earn them a meaningful glare from Mica saying something along the lines of "you three will get it later." or something like that…

The three elves all looked ruefully at each other and decided that it everything considered it would be best not to risk something like that again. After all, Mica was the granddaughter of the tribe's grand elder. And even he did not receive much respect from her so what would he say if she decided to bash them up.

The answer was "probably nothing".

After this, there was a fragile moment of silence as the group finally left the dark elves' cave and entered into the forest where the rest of the Demon hunting Troupe was already waiting for them.

Aura's senses hadn't been wrong as the small group of elves stepped outside of the cave. The sun had already risen and was shining upon the somewhat impressive company of demi-humans that stood outside waiting for them. About twenty well-built dark elves awaited them in front of the cave. Amazingly, some of them were even mounted on what appeared to be a giant wolf, but much more ferocious. The beast's color was mostly white with some grey in the mix, but that didn't diminish its imposing look and bloodthirsty aura that repelled any and all who dared to approach except for its riders.

Besides the five or six elves on its back, there were also supplies and backpacks strapped to it as they hung from the wolf's saddle. What stood out most were the numerous bows and quivers that stuck out from various places on the saddle. Evidently, these elves used ranged weapons as their primary tool for hunting as few of them seemed to be armed with swords.

All the elves that were waiting for them were armed with bows and quivers and all had at least a small dagger or knife strapped to their waist. All were wearing what looked like leather armor, although what the leather was made from was impossible to determine. Of course, to Mare and Aura their equipment didn't even warrant a passing glance as in Yggdrasil terms it would be difficult to even rate this garbage as "common" level equipment.

Standing at the head of the group was a dark elf that possessed a much more dominating aura than the rest. He wasn't particularly well built compared to the most muscular elves of the bunch. But he gave off a sense of danger that none of the others did which seemed to stem from his experience as a veteran of the forest and its many dangers.

This was Arthon Red Leaf. He was the second son of the Red Leaf Clan, which was one of the five biggest clans inside the tribe. His older brother had been named the clan's successor and replacement for the current clan head. So he had been forced to become a proper contributor to the wellbeing of the dark elf tribe whilst his brother stayed inside the clan's main home and concerned himself with logistics and petty matters.

He himself didn't let it get to him as he trained hard and about forty years ago became vice-captain after the previous one had died during an ambush on the troupe by a demonic kin. One would think that he would be frightened by taking a job where his predecessor had been mauled so badly that what was left of him they could burry by a quarter of a normal grave. But he was thrilled as one did need a purpose in life, especially in a life that lasted as long as an elf's. Otherwise you were liable to go insane from the passing of time. He had found his purpose in climbing up the ranks of the hunter troupe and rising to one day become the greatest ranger in the tribe, the one that all other tribesmen would look at with veneration and respect as they would praise him for being their shield and knife in the dark against the demon beasts and their kin.

As such, when he heard about how he was forced to spend the day with some foreign elf child, he had become rather depressed. This to the point that he was planning to reject the mission until Camus himself had come and talked to him personally about how the elder had insisted.

 _Haah… guess there's nothing to do but go along with this facade. Oh well we might as well go out hunting while we're at it. No reason to let this child drag us down no matter what the elder says. Since that child wanted to come along so badly, I'll show him a good time._

Seeing the giant wolf that some of the elves were riding on, Aura got excited as she hurriedly started running towards it to get a closer look. All to be stopped midway by Arthon who blocked her path.

"You're Aura?" asked Arthon coolly as he tried to size up what caliber of ranger this elf child was.

"Yup," was the indifferent reply that Aura gave as she almost didn't notice Arthon and instead was fully focused on the giant white wolf. All this irked the vice-captain greatly as he looked at Aura with a venomous gaze. This child had actually finagled its way into forcing him to take it with the troupe and he was actually being so disrespectful towards the one in charge?

 _Ridiculous!_

"Aura-sama! We will be going to the ritual site of the tribe now! Do come find us when you have returned. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Mare-sama whilst you are gone!"

Aura twitched as behind her a shrill voice rang out and called out to her. When she turned around, she saw as Mare was actually being pulled along by Mica, this was happening as he looked at his sister with teary eyes similar to someone in dire straits.

"Oi, you brat, you dare do anything funny to Mare and I'll come and find you personally! Be prepared!"

"Yes, yes, I heard you loud and clear, Aura-sama! Now, Mare-sama, why don't you tell me all about yourself as we walk to the ritual site. Like what kind of hobbies do you have and what do you like or dislike…"

"Oi!"

Aura was still enraged as she watched Mica almost completely ignore her as she and Mare walked along with him still half uncertain whether or not he should just run.

In the meantime, Arthon had just about enough of the spectacle and grabbed Aura by the collar as he threw her onto the giant wolf.

"Get on kid, we don't have all day!"

Surprisingly, Aura did not land on the beast with a large "plump" sound and instead twisted her body in midair to land gracefully on the beast's back.

"Fine, fine, let's go then… stupid brat, where does she get off being so arrogant?"

Arthon's brows furrowed a bit as he was slightly surprised by Aura's athletic ability to be able to land so perfectly after being thrown by him, but decided that at least this much should be expected from a brat that had the gall to request to go along with their troupe.

"Oh, this one's fur is surprisingly soft, although not as soft as Fenrir's it still doesn't lose out much. Well, that is to be expected from something so cute."

Hearing those words from Aura, Arthon couldn't help but chuckle. That just now was a very obvious bluff aimed directly at him in order to put on a brave front. But as if he wouldn't see through something that stupid. After all, who in their right minds would call their "White Death" a cute beast?

This wolf was a demonic kin that they had painstakingly obtained from its dying mother and then raised as the tribe's guardian beast. Without this wolf acting as their transportation, it became basically impossible to traverse the parts of the forest that contained other beasts with a demonic lineage. It was comparable to humans using an elephant to traverse the forest when other options failed. But this beast was more than transportation. The tribe had been truly lucky with this find as this particular wolf was powerful enough to claim part of the forest as his territory which the elves used as farming grounds and for the ritualist site. Without his markings, there would never be a part of the forest that would be safe for long.

"All right, enough jokes! We're setting off! Everyone get on the wolf and let's make for Bear claw. If we're lucky, we'll find some good prey today!"

With those words, all the elves hopped onto the wolf's back. Some climbed onto the giant saddle whilst others just grabbed onto the fur as best they could. Not long after this was done, the leader then took out a small silver whistle and blew it.

Immediately, the wolf responded as it lead out an incredibly deep howl that shook the very trees around it and sped off into the heart of the forest.

The hunt had officially begun.

 **AA: consider this extra-large chapter an apology for missing out. From now on I am completely free and will be posting these chaps much more regularly and will make them bigger than the last ones.**

 **And as always**

 **Glory to Ainz Ooal Gown**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 a day in Lodos with Mare part 1**

Even in all of Nazarick, there were few creatures that, if let loose upon the world, could bring about the apocalypse just by themselves. After all, even one of the Eight Greed Kings, whose power was said to have stood at the very cusp of divinity, was eventually beaten and slain by the combined might of ten dragon lords. Although there was much controversy regarding that tale and the Eight Greed Kings in general, those who had personally seen the might of dragons would not doubt this story for one second. But even so, if one had to name all the creatures in Nazarick that could singlehandedly take on the world and might even emerge victorious, there were still candidates.

One of such beings was Ainz, who, with his ability to raise entire armies of the dead, could topple nations in matter of days. Even if he faced an opponent that was more powerful than him, he could raise monstrously powerful helpers and turn around the fight, albeit at the expense of his experience points.

Next on the list would be Demiurge, who, although far from the strongest resident in Nazarick, with his intellect would find it a trifling matter to quietly manipulate the world from the shadows and cause it to collapse on itself. Even pitting the dragon lords against each other would not be too tall of an order for him. He would be the quiet observer that, by only making one domino fall, would cause the entire world to collapse as he watched.

But if one had to ask the guardians and Ainz which being they would see bringing the end of the world in its classical form. Which being was capable causing a great darkness to descending upon the mortal realm with overbearing power and crush all life in a single explosive blast that left but ashes in its wake. They would give only one answer, and his name was Mare Bello Fiore.

Knowing this, it would make it all the more confusing if one saw that very being right now as this destroyer of worlds…

Was quietly sleeping with a gratified smile on its face. Evidently, this destroyer of worlds was having a nice dream as it seemed oblivious to the passing of time.

Mare was cozily rolled up in his blanket as he lay on the bed, not really snoring but almost muttering something in his sleep. Seeing him for the first time you would think nothing more of him than a cute elf girl enjoying her nap as there was literally nothing extraordinary about her.

Few, if any, would be heartless enough to actually disturb this adorable creature's rest. Unfortunately for him, that did not mean there were none.

"Wake up, you lazy wimp!"

…..

Still recovering from the distressing scene he had been forced to sit through back in their bedroom, Mare meekly walked behind his sister as he kept his distance from the overbearing Mica who still eyed him like a delicious piece of meat.

Mare could not help but wonder if all dark elf girls were overbearing like this? No, to call his sister overbearing would be rude to his creator who specifically designed her to be the big sister that both doted and stomped on her kid brother. But Mica on the other hand was genuinely overbearing. From the very first moment she saw him, she declared him to be hers and persistently kept eying him like prey.

Mare did not know how to respond to this. In battle if he felt threatened, he could use spells to evade his foe and even call upon several trump cards that made him practically unbeatable to easily escape any situation. But Ainz had forbidden them from using magic above the fourth tier unless a truly powerful foe appeared and also ordered the twins not to be rude or aggressive towards the tribe as they were here to forge good relations with them.

Things might have been different if a shy elf girl like him approached Mare, but instead he was faced with the arrogant and imposing Mica who cared little for what anyone and especially Mare thought about her "hitting on him".

Keeping this in mind, he could do little but use his sister as a shield that guarded him valiantly against this airhead of a girl.

As he walked further towards the exit of the cave, he pondered about what his sister had said before she hit him again.

 _To make at least one friend huh?_

All guardians had but one purpose. Serve Nazarick and the Supreme Beings, in other words. They devoted themselves completely to Ainz as one would devote themselves to a god.

Though he did not dislike sleeping, Mare was certain that he would feel even greater joy if instead he was allowed to serve Ainz for eternity without pause. Compared to that, what was making friends?

However, it was Ainz's will that he use this opportunity to make some friends among the dark elves, so his own personal preferences hardly mattered. As he pondered this problem, the group finally walked out of the cave and Mare could but regretfully stare as his shield against Mica ran off as soon as she caught sight of the giant wolf.

Mare recalled the giant Spider that he had gifted his sister after the battle with the Black Scripture. She hadn't been all too thrilled about it at first, but the spider nested in quite nicely on the sixth floor not far from the poisonous swamp area. So in the end she had come to see it as a nice addition to her collection. But still, his sister's obsession for exotic animals was something he would never quite grasp.

Still, seeing her abandoning him to his fate just because of a wolf was a little…

"Aura-sama! We will be going to the ritual site of the tribe now! Do come find us when you have returned. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Mare-sama whilst you are gone!"

Before Mare could react or better yet run away, Mica had already closed the distance and grabbed onto him like a child that was running away from his mom.

Although he could easily break free of her hold, if he used too much force it could break her hands and that would be a violation of Ainz's orders. As such, he had no choice but to let himself get dragged off by Mica.

"Now, Mare-sama, why don't you tell me all about yourself as we walk to the ritual site. Like what kind of hobbies do you have and what do you like or dislike and more importantly…

"Have you ever done it with a girl before?"

Before he could properly organize his thoughts, this girl actually asked him such a question.

"ONEE-SAN, SAVE-ME!"

 **AA: experimenting with a bit of a new way of telling a story with multiple sides. Don't know if it will pay off but hey nothing wagered nothing won right? Anyways on a side note regarding Light's Downfall it seems everyone who was saying that I overpowered Zesshi can go and swallow those words cuz canon confirms (spoiler alert) she and Sylvan and the third unnamed godkin are powerful enough to take on 500 death knights and their soul eaters. So I actually underpowered her it seems.**

 **PS: at this point in the story I'd like to remind everyone that this is R rated so be warned.**

 **Anyways and as always**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter fifteen: a day in Lodos with Mare part 2**

 **AF: short message from me since people apparently skip AA, for overlord volume 10 "fanfic" written by Nigel check reviews for site with "blogspot" in the name! Okay?**

 **Now then, enjoy your regularly scheduled program**

Although the elves did possess a guardian beast that could claim a small portion of the forest as its territory, it was far from enough for them to use as a decent hunting ground or as a plot for farming. That said, naturally some elves would have grievances when they heard that even that small portion of land was partially not used for harvesting food and instead used as a ritual site.

On this site, the druids of the tribe would hone their skills as priests of nature. This was not something that could be cultivated living in a cave. For druids to truly refine their mastery of spells, they were forced to learn to "communicate" with nature.

The variations and classifications of druids were as diverse as nature itself. Both in YGGDRASIL and here in this world, druids were amongst the most mysterious of magic users.

Some druids focused on refining the art of "wild growth" which focused on the manipulation of plants and even trees if one's mastery of it was high enough. Incidentally, this was what both elf and dark elf druids alike claimed they were most proficient at. Of course, in YGGDRASIL this type of magic eventually evolved into using the power of nature itself instead of simply manipulating it.

Then there were druids who focused on controlling animals. Unlike rangers who simply "tamed" their companions, druids instead "linked" with them and formed an even stronger bond that allowed for both greater synergy in battle and gave them the ability to subdue more powerful creatures that otherwise would be impossible for rangers to tame. Ainz had once heard a piece of information from Fluder that the dragon riding tribes south-east of the empire were capable of taming dragons solely due to their druids using magic to subdue them. Although for now this was impossible to confirm it still warranted caution.

But the most mysterious art of all that druids possessed was shape-shifting. This was especially useful to druids who were, after all, magic casters. In battle, if the enemy was smart, he would always eliminate the magic caster first either through a ranged attack but more often by creating an opening and killing the magic caster in close combat. Therefore, it was a lifesaving ability if one could transform into a ferocious creature and excel even at close range.

It was a pity that this ability was not learned but only inherently possessed by certain elves that could display this power after years of training. Regretfully, no elf with this power had been born to the tribe for the last two hundred years. And the last one had been taken away years ago by human slave-masters. This was just one of many reasons why dark elves hated humans to the bone.

But since there was no changing the past, the elves instead were forced to look to the future and practice their talents as best they could on this small patch of land.

Even if some of the other elves disagreed with them using what could be farm land for what they perceived as non-sequential purposes, druids were invaluable to the overall survival of the tribe. Aside from healing, druids were also useful in battle and most importantly could cast spells that increased the fertility of pieces of land. Without druids boosting the production of what was already pitiful farmland, half the tribe would have starved to death by now.

To become a druid, one needed to appear before the elder who could cast a spell that determined one's aptitude for the art. All elf children went through this at the age of fifty. Female elves tended to have very low aptitude for the druid arts although there were definitely exceptions, and one of the biggest exceptions in all of dark elf history…

Was Mica.

…..

"Hurry up, Mare-sama. Trust me, you really don't want to keep those old men waiting! Although I say old, they all just talk like old men whilst most of them are barely four hundred years old."

Mica was still pulling along Mare, who still looked at her with a highly discomforting feeling. Although he could crush her with just a single finger if he wished, he still felt some strange kind of danger from her. Like a predator that existed on a different plane than what he was used to.

The duo were walking alone through the sole patch of forest that was considered safe for elves. But as nothing at this time was truly safe anymore, Mica wanted to get to the ritualist site as soon as possible.

Although she could defend herself and flee if a demonic kin appeared, and she somehow felt that Mare likewise would be fine, it would be no laughing matter if the pair suddenly got caught in an ambush.

So although it was an excellent opportunity for the two of them to be alone, she still chose to act sensibly and get Mare and herself to the site as fast as she could. Having her fun with Mare would have to wait as she knew that other such opportunities would arrive soon…

Mare, meanwhile, was still thinking about the task his sister had given him. If he didn't make a friend, he would be going against what his sister said were Ainz's wishes. If that was true, then failing was absolutely forbidden, and he would do anything to fulfill his master's wishes.

 _Come to think of it, this girl that has been clinging to me… could she be considered a friend?_

Although Mare did not feel anything even remotely comparable to friendship when he looked at her, if she considered him a friend then would that still count as making a friend? But even if she did and he didn't, then that wouldn't be a friendship until Mare agreed to be her friend.

At any rate, he would have to ask her before he could get anywhere. After all, Mare had little confidence that if not Mica, he would have little chance to befriend anyone else.

"Say, Mica...san?"

Mare slightly stuttered as he asked, which evoked a surprised reaction from Mica who turned around with as looked at him with a smile.

"Yes?"

Still hesitating, but finally gathering the courage to ask, Mare continued.

"Do you like me?"

At this point Mica's already delighted face simply became all smiles as she quickly responded.

"Yes, I like you very much!"

Having confirmed his suspicion, Mare finally decided and firmly asked.

"Then… do you want to be my friend?"

Mica became a bit taken back as she pondered Mare's question for a moment before finally responding.

"Hmmmm… Nope."

"Eeeh?! But you said you liked me! Why don't you want to be my friend then?"

"Because…"

At this point Mica once again leaned in so close to Mare that he became uncomfortable and seriously thought about teleporting away. She looked deep into his eyes just like she had done when they first met and softly whispered.

"Like I said the first time, I'll make you mine. Being a friend is aiming way too low for me. Instead, I want something more!"

"Something more? Like what?"

"Hmmmm… consider yourself my future pillow princess!"

At this point, Mare formed a confused look on his face as he had never heard of such a term. It didn't sound like a word from his native language either.

"P-p-pillow princess? What's that?"

Mica on the other hand just kept smiling more and more as she finally gave Mare some more personal space and responded.

"About that, for now consider it… a se-cret!"

She playfully winked at him as she said that and turned around to once again pull him with her towards the ritualist site, not paying any attention to Mare or more specifically the stupefied look on his face.

 **AA: quick note on that last slang. What Mica said to Mare was not literally the English word "pillow princess" or even the Japanese word for it which I assume they have since Oyakodon exists (that word has two meanings FYI) no she said a word that Mare didn't know what it meant even in his language so he couldn't understand it. So instead he heard the dark elf language word for "pillow princess" which is why it didn't sound like a native word to him.**

 **Let's not forget that in New World, inhabitants speak a different language that they are able to understand due to some reason explained in volume 1. But naturally, words inherent to a certain language can't be translated properly and instead come out as the word in its untranslated form as proven in volume 8 when Lupusregina called herself a (girl with no experience but a lot of knowledge) but Enri could not understand what she meant.**

 **This whole translation mechanic is always a nightmare but let's just say that Mare did not understand what Mica meant and that Mica did call Mare her future pillow princess. As to why, you should know if you have been paying attention.**

 **Man that was a long AA but as always**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN**


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Checking up on Mare**

The sun was already touching the horizon as the sky became dyed red and the day was about to end. Unlike the demon hunter troupe that had to take into account the amount of time it would take them to get back to the tribe, the druids of the ritual site did not have this problem as the site was a good fifteen minutes' walk away from the cave and was through relatively safe territory.

By now, they normally would have returned to the tribe like the hunter troupe, but because honing their skills was so important to the survival of the tribe, they sometimes stayed in the ritualist site until the very last moment. Today appeared to be one of those days as none of the druids had returned yet, and it seemed like they might even spend the night there.

Such things had happened before when one of the druids was close to a breakthrough in his magic training. At such an event, the druids would stay at the ritualist site to welcome a new powerful member of their group into the fold.

However, time was of the essence today as the grand elder of the tribe was waiting for Ainz and the twins to come back and further discuss the terms of a possible alliance with him, thus Ainz decided to set off with Hamsuke, Aura, and Camus who was still looking shell-shocked at Aura all the way as if he had trouble believing that she was real.

Before they left his vice-captain had told him just a fraction of what had happened throughout their day but that alone made his hair stand on end.

On Hamsuke's back, the group made it to the ritualist site in a matter of minutes as they quickly came to see a patch of forest that seemed even darker than the rest of Lodos.

Lodos by itself was a rather dark forest; with its dense growth and vegetation it allowed for very little light to shine through the treetops and as such gave all who waked on the ground a feeling of mystery.

But even so, this darkness was nothing compared to the part of the forest where Ainz and the rest now stood. The trees here were almost umber, as were their leaves. If the other parts of the forest allowed for very little light to pass through, then this part of the forest allowed no light at all to reach the ground. In here, the thick black leaves of the forest blotted out all sunlight, with the only source of light being swarms of strange bugs that resembled fireflies and gave off an eerie green glow as they swarmed around the trees.

The druids had chosen this location precisely because of the darkness, as to dark elves light was merely a disturbance in refining their magic arts. For them, darkness and a close connection to nature were the most essential parts of advancing their magic. For this reason, they had developed a simple training method.

The dark elves hollowed dead trees in this part of the forest and trained inside of them as they tried to communicate with nature. They repeated this process for years until they finally gained a connection, and through it practiced and mastered their spells. This was how they had trained their druids for centuries.

If a druid from the human world saw this, they would gasp at the sheer stupidity of this method. This training method would require decades for a person to be able to cast so much as a first tier spell. Human druids, like elven druids, of course knew about how making a connection to nature was an essential part of becoming a true druid, however they instead did not wait until they had formed this connection and immediately began practicing spells.

Establishing a connection to nature merely meant that they would be able to use spells more freely and deplete less mana whilst casting them. Compared to the decades that one had to spend to gain this connection, it was much simpler to skip this step and start practicing spells in the first place. They would never be able to understand the elves, who had such long lifespans and could afford to do it this way.

Having said all that, recently there was talk in the highest circles of the dark elf tribe that their druids likewise should learn spells straight away due to the pressing threat of the demonic beasts and their kin. But this was quickly rejected by the clans, which valued tradition above all else and could not allow the prestige of this connection to be reduced simply because times were tough.

In truth it was quite a worrying matter when the grand elder who was supposed to be their leader proposed one thing but was denied by the major clans who officially are meant to obey the elder without question. This was just one of the many problems that the tribe faced.

Ainz had heard about all this before as he had questioned Camus about it while he was touring the tribe after his victory. It was always useful to know as much as possible about your future business partners before making a deal with them. This applied both to his world and this one.

As the group walked into the dark part of the forest, they swiftly moved to the innermost part of the ritualist site where the druids would be. But before they could reach the central altar around which the druids trained, they saw a little elf girl sitting solemn-faced on the ground and leaning against one of the umber trees. Her eyes were devoid of life as she both had and did not have a face to speak of simply because she looked so gloomy.

Upon seeing her, Camus froze up as he had no troubling recognizing her and couldn't believe what he saw. The single most pugnacious girl in the dark elf tribe, Mica…

Was reduced to a state of utter depression and lifelessness.

Camus cast off all other thoughts as he jumped off Hamsuke and ran towards her and promptly grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Oi, Mica! What happened? What's wrong with you? Did something happen with that dark elf kid? Oi, answer me!"

He might have his disputes with her, but this girl was still a future pillar of the tribe and the granddaughter of the tribe's elder. No matter what, it was better if she was cheerful and healthy than depressed and sad like right now. If something happened to her, the amount of problems that the tribe would face would be no laughing matter.

Especially him since he was technically her guardian. With the elder busy he had been assigned to watch over her as much as he could. Even though she didn't really need his protection, if something happened it would still be his fault. Therefor he needed to get her out of this slump no matter what!

Finally, she looked up at Camus and just as lifelessly as his vice-captain, she responded.

"Ah, it's you Camus. I'm such a lowly existence, I didn't think you'd notice me."

Seeing her like this, Camus almost experienced Deja vu as she was mirroring his vice-captain. But thinking about what he had heard was the cause of that, he froze up as he still had trouble believing his words.

"Tell me… what happened?"

Hearing those words, Mica teared up and almost began crying as she pointed with her finger to the place where the core area of the ritualist site was and shouted.

"That happened!"

In the core of the ritualist site stood a massive altar made of stone that was supposedly built by the oldest ancestors of the tribe when they migrated here over six hundred years ago. This altar strengthened the learning process of and the connection to nature that druids had. And had some other secret uses that few knew about.

Here the druids would sit around the altar and at first try to gain a connection from it and then later build on that connection inside the dead umber threes. Though this process may seem tedious to elves it was a holy ritual capable of being called their tribal legacy.

Upon looking over there, the group saw the grand altar which represented the core area of the ritualist site and as expected, all of the druids were there gathered around the altar but…

Something about their pose was quite strange.

It would have been normal if they were just sitting around the altar, but they were all actually kowtowing with their heads lowered in the direction of the altar. Not a single one dared to move a single inch as all were motionless… except one.

One dark elf was not only not kowtowing in the direction of the altar, but was actually sitting on top of it and was looking around with a pained expression.

"Haah, to think that something like this would happen."

Ainz couldn't help whispering those words as he saw just who was sitting on top of the altar.

Ainz didn't even need to guess who that dark elf was as he had figured something like this could happen.

To him, it was almost no surprise that the one the druids seemed to be kowtowing to…

Was Mare.

 **AA: who's got two thumbs and had to buy a new PC? *points to himself* THIS GUY! Anyways latest chapter is ready and now that I have a new pc I can start writing again.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay so I know this is a bit cheating but hey… we're not on skythewood here so cheating is allowed. Just posting this chapter to inform you way overdue that I'm back from the cruel world called real life! So… since volume 11 is currently being translated by savior-sama on $ù$ù$ù$ù$ù$ù. I thought I'd come back and give you all what you want. More overlord! Once volume 11 is out I will start doing volume 12 so you guys don't get withdrawal symptoms till march.**

 **But more importantly I'm here to highly recommend a discord channel for overlord fans like me and you**

 **It's got everything you'd want from an overlord community with the people from skythewood and the savior himself on it (just don't bother them about translations k?)**

 **ANYWAYS after that little shameless promoting I'm now working on Lodos till volume 11 is over and then it's full speed ahead for the new volume.**

 **So for now burn in hell yen press**

 **And as always**

 **Just look for channel 220301815349116928/220301815349116928**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


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